Twilight Princess: Outworlders
by Karristan
Summary: Samus's gunship is shot down in uncharted space causing her to crash in the land of Hyrule while still in pursuit by her attackers. With Hyrule now under the threat of an invading army Samus agrees to fight them with minor help but the Space Pirate seem more interested in something else in the land rather then just the planet itself. When Samus investigates she finds a dark secret
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer; ****I own nothing in this fic.**

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Prologue

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1500 hours, uncharted space

Pending mission… No mission in progress… Drifting…

Location scanning… Location unknown…

Scanning nearest planet… Planet unknown

Scanning nearest identified location… Toa 6, Negradi Nebula, 1,500 clicks

Nearest Trade Federation… Negradi Nebula, 1,560 clicks

In the depths of space a lone gunship drifts quietly and slowly as it passes an unknown planet, green in color as it is rich with life, a lone bounty hunter watches it curiously as she passes time. There was no known life for hundreds of clicks, yet she came here to get away from bounty hunting for a little while in hopes of calming the nightmares that plagued her with the memories of her past, a past which she could not forget.

She relaxed in the luxurious chair of her small ship meant for only a single person as it held only one bed a small shower and a small place for her suit and packets of instant food and the ray to make it. Her eyes are closed as she tries to find an undaunted rest for the first time in a long time and soon drifts into that very rest she has needed for so long. Her sleep was peaceful yet short as her ship began to power up on its own with an alarm signaling danger.

An explosion to the right side of her ship shook her awake and almost forced her from her chair as she sat up quickly and instantly rushed to activate her ship's defense mechanisms only to find her ship had been damaged from the first attack as it now loses to the pull of the gravity of the planet she had strayed too close to. Any other attack made would force her down with ease unless she activated her backup power.

Her defense was put on hold as the planet likely held no intelligent life form as she tries desperately to activate her backup power. She rose from her chair as activating it automatically failed. It had to be done manually so she rushed to the back of her small ship and reached it with ease but before she could enter the necessary codes her ship was hit again and threw her back and to the front of her ship where she lost her balance and fell, her head hitting the controls, as the ship plummeted to the ground.

She forced herself up and back into the seat where she took the controls in hopes of a decent landing for minimal repairs and further injury as blood slowly dripped from the wounds on her forehead. She struggled with the controls for balance as she travelled through thick clouds making her blind to direction. This was to both her advantage and disadvantage as she could not see but her attacker was also blind to both her ship and their own direction.

Her eyes widened when she broke through the clouds and the center right thruster collided with a mountain lurching her forward once more into the controls and the same force of impact. Now her struggle was more difficult as she only had three thrusters remaining. One hand tried desperately to control her ship as the other tried to offset the burn-through for a safer landing while idly watching her surroundings for her point of impact. As her luck went she was heading for the only structure she could see from her height.

She managed to offset the burn-through enough to avoid an explosion upon impact and that was the most she could do before bringing all her focus to the controls to shift to the left of the structure, which she now made out to be a castle. With the combination of the turbulence and the damage of her gunship the controls were stiff. The alarms were constant now as she released the controls with one hand to hit the button above her seat for the seatbelt to strap her in before she grabbed the controls once more with grit teeth as she did everything in her power to stay alive.

1520 hours

Location scanning… Castle grounds

Scanning region… Region unknown

From the castle grounds men ran amuck in panic while others stood dumbstruck at the force falling from the sky. Spears and swords were gathered while archers ran to their posts in great haste to brace for whatever the heavens were throwing at them. There was nothing in their knowledge or even recorded in their history of anything near this ever happening. They feared the goddesses were angry at them for reasons unknown to them as no wrong doing had been done in their knowledge.

The guards took cover as the object hit the ground with a crash with enough force to shake the whole of the castle and its town before it slid to the far side of the courtyard where it came to a halt just short of the wall keeping the whole wall surrounding the castle intact, even with the force of the impact. As the shaking settled the guards peered out from their cover with shaking limbs at the strange object that had fallen from the sky.

Their approach was slow as they remained on guard for anything to happen. When a woman crawled into sight from the top of the object they were taken aback and some even dropped their guard as they wore their shock in plain sight. Almost all lowered their weapons as the woman fell to the ground and didn't move. The archers held their arrows ready as a couple guards approached the fallen woman.

One man was brave enough to kneel at her side and check for life while a couple others kept their guard raised incase of an attack. The man checked for signs of breathing before shaking her a little as more guards hurried to the scene. A finely dressed guard went over with his blade drawn, "What's happened?"

"This woman has fallen from the sky incased in this object." One guard said.

"It's madness." Another said.

"This is no madness." A third said. "She has been sent by the Heavens for some grand purpose."

"If the goddesses sent her she would not be injured." The Captain said. "Bring her to the dungeon, we'll question her when she wakes."

"Captain," A strong demanding, yet feminine, voice called demanding the immediate attention of all guards present as they turned and knelt to one knee. "What is all this?"

"I do not know, your highness." The Captain replied. "I was in the midst of finding that out myself but it seems we are all at a loss. The only one to inform us on the matter is unconscious. I was just about to have her brought to the dungeon now."

The Princess looked past them at the injured woman lying on the ground with blood dripping down the side of her head. She observed the strange woman and took note to many things, they way her hair was tied back so tightly, and how her ears were small and round compared to the long and pointed ones of this land, and even the strange blue skin she wore around her body. The woman's hair color almost matched her own dark hair color.

This woman intrigued her vastly as she brought her attention back to the guard Captain, "Treat her wounds before imprisoning her."

"Princess, are you certain that's a good idea?" The Captain asked. "She may be a threat to your land."

"And she may die from her wounds before having the chance to enlighten us on what has happened." The Princess replied. "Treat her wounds then imprison her. I want to be informed immediately on what has happened in my courtyard."

"Of course, your highness." He said and looked at the men behind him and nodded before they got to it. "Is there anything else you need?"

The Princess looked past him once more at the object behind them, "There is little point in asking questions on which no answer will be given."

"Forgive my lack of knowledge, your highness." The Captain said as he hung his head in shame.

"Not even the brightest minds in all this land or the next would know the answer I seek." The Princess said calmly. "There is no need for you to seek an apology."

"Yes, your highness." The Captain said.

"Come," The Princess said as she turned to walk away. "We must inform the town of this."

"Is that wise, Princess?" The Captain asked as he rose to his feet.

"I've little doubt they didn't take notice of this taking place as it shook the whole castle." The Princess said. "It would be best to put their minds at ease by telling them what is going on."

"But we do not even know what is happening." The Captain exclaimed as he followed at a respectable distance.

"That is what we will tell them." The Princess said. "At times like these the people need to be informed on what is happening around them even if it is uncertainty. They will at least know it is no form of attack."

"But it may be an attack." The Captain said.

"If it were we are already victorious." The Princess said. "Sending one woman to attack a castle in such a glorious way would surely fail immediately as it already has."

"You're right, your highness." The Captain said. "Forgive me for questioning you."

"It is ones nature to question uncertainty." The Princess replied. "My royalty does nothing to halt questions."

"Of course, your highness." The Captain said as they left the courtyard.

They walked down the castle entrance way and were immediately joined by another two guards whose posts were on both sides of the grand door. They followed without word or question as to what had happened as they knew it would be announced soon enough for them to hear. They entered the market square of the town that was already packed with citizens. No longer did they scurry about their business, no longer did merchants call out their wares to passing customers, now they stood bustled up in groups discussing the matters that may be taking place in the castle while they waited for news of the matter itself from someone.

The Captain stepped forth before the Princess and commanded attention, "All shall be quiet for Princess Zelda to speak!"

All other voices were hushed instantly and all eyes turned to the Princess who stood before them, "Citizens of Hyrule, I regret to inform you that at this moment what has fallen from the sky is not known to us but there is no danger with it. This is not a form of attack. I will keep everyone informed the moment I know something, I give you my word. Now please go about you business."

There were many mutters through the crowd and most were clear disapproval of the lacking information. Nothing more was to be said on the matter as the Princess turned and returned to the castle while the three guards remained behind and formed a small barrier that was completed as another two guards for the other grand door stepped up to complete it so no one could get in for any purpose whether it was for more information or a peek at what had come from the sky. If one citizen approached the guards would reach for their weapons so the citizen would scurry off not wanting any trouble. But some whose curiosity outweighed their fear went forward to ask questions only to receive the same response they had already received as it was all to be had.

The Princess entered her court of have the same speech given to her courts men only to have more questions raised as they should have already been informed on the object and the woman or at least one of the two so the question would be raised. She informed them with ease after taking her seat and there was a small amount of muttering before questions were raised, "What of the object that has fallen from the sky?"

"It is still there and if you wish to see it you are welcome to." The Princess replied. "I know nothing about it and won't until the woman relating to the incident awakens."

"Woman?" One repeated as he rose from his seat. "Someone had entered the castle grounds on that thing?"

"Yes," The Princess replied. "She has been imprisoned and may be unconscious for awhile from her injuries."

"The guards did not slay her?" Another asked in outrage. "The nerve they show! If one invades the castle ground they should be beheaded on the spot no matter the means of entry."

"It doesn't matter how she got here or where she ended up." The Princess said calmly. "I ordered her wounds to be treated and she will be kept alive for questioning. There are many things I wish to ask her about so she will not be beheaded or killed."

The court fell silent as her decision had been made and there was no way to upturn it. One did not speak against royalty and live to tell the tale, though Princess Zelda was more compassionate then that, none spoke against her decisions in her court. They were all of nobility and knew their place and despised those who knew little of the ways of nobility, those such as the guards whom often question decisions though the Princess held good patience towards them on the matters they questioned as it was question of safety and a matter like that should always be discussed when necessary.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer; ****I own nothing in this fic.**

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Chapter 1

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1525 hours

Pending mission… Signs of danger

Location scanning… Lake Hyrule

A giant ball of fire and smoke hurtled to the ground gathering the attention of a tall and skinny strangely dressed man and a short plump strangely dressed man as they watched half in admiration and half in fear. Their eyes were wide and the cucco around them were loud in panic as they cued and ran amuck in their pen-like area.

"Imagine if we could get our cannons to shoot someone like that." The tall one exclaimed excitedly.

"It would get a lot of rupees." The shorter man agreed. "It would also kill the poor fella."

They fell into a short silence as the ball of fire slowed to a stop a good distance above the ground before landing. The two ment leaned further over the edge of the railing they were on to try and get a better look at what had landed far off in the desert of the next region. It was to no avail as their eyesight was no better then any others but perhaps worse.

With a yawn the shorter one lost interest and went back to his supper while the taller one remained and looked back, "Do you think it might be a good idea to advertise this as a new attraction of ours?"

"No way, we don't even know what it is." The shorter one denied. "It's probably dangerous so if we're telling anyone it should be the castle."

"Ooh, good thinking, Fyer." The tall one said. "If they come down here to check it out then sales will go through the roof. Let's raise the prices now before we do anything else."

"Soldiers don't have to pay for anything like this by order of the law, you know that, Falbi." Fyer said. "If it's dangerous they all get a free ride or we get a new home in a dungeon."

"Well aren't you delightful." Falbi pouted a little with his hands on his hips. "Do whatever then."

Falbi turned back to the object and continued to watch it while Fyer gathered a parchment and wrote out a letter to inform what happened to any guard that would get it. Once he wrote it he brought it to his most trustworthy cucco and attached the letter to its leg and put it on the table he had his food on. He stared it right in the eye and instructed it on what to do carefully. They kept eye contact until all the instructions were said before it flew off to carry out its task.

Fyer took his meal and went back to the railing while removing some feathers from the plate before eating while observing the strange object in the distance. Neither man spoke for awhile before Falbi walked off making the other look over, "What are you up to?"

"I'm raising the prices before the soldiers get here so if they look at the price in thoughts of coming here later they won't complain about it going up." He said with a sly smirk.

"They won't come here." Fyer said. "Soldiers rarely leave the castle except for war, battle or escorts. They're all cheap also."

"Well they have friends and family that could come here instead of them." Falbi said.

"If they do come here and complain about the prices then we'll be shut down." Fyer reasoned. "I'm done being penniless. Our scam is good enough as it is we don't need to put it at risk. We're still under because of that drought we had not long ago. People probably don't even know we're still here. If anything advertise a fake discount."

"Fine," He said stingily and stormed into the house that doubled as their business. Fyer sighed as he brought his attention back to the object in the distance as a part of it seemed to shift slightly.

1545 hours

Location scanning… Hyrule Castle [entrance]

A guard stood sleepily and hung over by the castle door. He had slept for the whole day and was woken by a large crash of pots and pans in the bar he had passed out in. Once he realized the time he hurried off to the castle and paid little attention to what was going on around him and nearly bumped into many townsfolk along the way to his post.

He yawned lazily only for it to be cut short as a dark feathered cucco ran towards him in near hysteria. It ran circles around him as it cued frantically before coming to a stop in front of him and hopping up and down. The guard stood there and watched it as it began to run circles around him around before coming to a stop and hopping again.

This time he bent down and found a parchment attached to its leg. He detached it and looked at it before blinking a few times and squinting at the near illegible writing before looking down at the cucco once more as it ran off. He raised an eyebrow before trying to make out what the parchment said but all he could make out was 'ball of fire… sky… in desert… danger… free rides…'

He let out a long sigh before burying his face in his hand and shaking his head ever so slightly as he murmured, "And here I thought I drank too much."

The parchment was put in his pocket for a later joke to tell the guys at the bar as not one would believe the story if he didn't at least keep this. He let out another yawn as he leaned back on the wall with a slight smirk as he awaited his shift to end to tell this story with high laughter and tall ales. It would be a great story and there would be many laughs received from it as cuccos were not a means of sending messages as the postman did that.

2000 hours

Location scanning… Hyrule Castle [Castle courtyard]

The guard Captain walked to the entrance accompanied by a couple other men as they were on their way to the lower dungeons under the castle itself. They had been inspecting the object that had fallen from the sky for many hours but found nothing to indicate origin or even what it was. They were no nearer an answer now then when it had fallen from the sky. The guards walked in conversation as they entered the castle catching the guard who stood there's attention, "… fell from the sky like that. If there is any danger with this situation then this won't be the only one to fall from the sky in a ball of fire. I don't have a good feeling about this."

"For now we just have question her and report to Princess Zelda on what we find." The Captain said sternly. "Until we have answers we'll have to keep trying to figure that object out."

The guard's eyes were wide as the door closed and cut off any further conversation. Slowly his hand reached into his pocket and he pulled out the note he had received from the cucco and he reread it, 'ball of fire… sky… in desert… danger.' He hurried into the castle to inform Princess Zelda of this as it had clearly been stated by his Captain that that's what he should do first. He would definitely have to lie about when he got this to save himself from a cell for missing most of his shift due to his drinking as he had missed all of what had happened.

He hurried through the castle as the last of his hangover was forgotten in the moment as it would only prove to get him in trouble with the young Princess, who held little patience for those who slack off. When he arrived at her court he came to a stop to compose himself properly before knocking on the door. The door was opened for him and he was immediately expected his reasons for being there so he stated, "I have received a parchment that may be of interest of the Princess."

"What does it say?" The man asked.

"Most is illegible but what I have made out is, 'ball of fire, sky, in desert, and danger'." He said calmly.

The man's eyes were wide at the guard's words and he was immediately allowed in. He entered with a nod and walked to the Princess's side where he kneeled and presented the parchment to her as he said, "You may want to see this, your highness."

The Princess took the parchment and looked at it briefly before looking back at the guard, "This is rubbish, why have you bought this to me?"

"Your highness, I have read many parchments with sloppy writing and from what I can make out of this letter," He stood and went to her side to point out the individual words that he could read. "Ball of fire, sky, in desert, danger. At the bottom it says free rides so by that I assume the sender can get us to the desert with ease."

The Princess looked over the parchment once more before asking, "By what means do you receive this parchment?"

The guard was hesitant on answering but did all the same, "I received it by cucco."

Even in his answer his disbelief was there as it shown in his face as well. There was a burst of laughter from one of the courts men but the Princess ignored it as she went back to the parchment. Shortly after the Princess rose her hand silencing the laughter as she thought reasonably on what the parchment said in a whole and from the scribbles between the identified words the words likely were, 'ball of fire fell from the sky and landed in the desert, might be danger.' The bottom scratching she ignored as 'free rides' was likely just as the guard had assumed.

The Princess rose from her chair with the parchment in hand and left the court with the guard silently by her side. They walked in silence all the way to the dungeons where yelling could be heard. The yells were all one sided as the guard Captain interrogated the prisoner. There didn't seem to be any response as the Captain grew angry at the woman and called for a whip.

Just as he was about to start the torture the Princess entered causing all actions to stop immediately. The Captain kneeled on one knee as the Princess walked to the wall where the woman had been chained by her wrists. She simply observed her for a moment before looking back at the guards, "Leave us, I wish to have a word with this woman."

"But Prince-" He was cut off as she raised her hand.

"Now, Captain." She said sternly.

"Of course, your highness." He said and left the room with the other three guards close behind him.

She waited for the door to close before looking at the woman, who watched her angrily but remained defiantly silent. There was a moment before the Princess spoke, "I want answers from you and I will get them."

There was no response from the woman but only a dark look. The look of fatigue was great on the woman's face as if she had gone many days without rest. "Where is it you have come from?"

Again there was no response given. The Princess turned to retrieve a whip to force her to talk but before she even got one step away the woman's legs clasped around her waist and she was pulled back from the limits of the chains. She was taken completely aback by this action and even more so as the woman used the chain to lift herself higher at a quick pace. There was only a moment from when this started until the Princess called for the guards. As they barged into the room the Princess was inches above the ground and the chain was wrapped around her neck.

The guards stood in shock at this turn of event and didn't know what to do as their prisoner held their Princess captive. The woman glared at them from behind the Princess, all previous fatigue had been forgotten, as she demanded, "Release me or she dies."

The chain was tightened around the Princess's neck in a threatening manner. One guard scrambled with the keys on his belt to find the one he needed but was stopped by the guard that had come in with the Princess as he asked, "The others that have come here, are they here for you?"

The woman's eyes widened as her captive held up a parchment for her to read. She looked at it and found a language she couldn't understand so she loosened the chain so it would be read for her. The Princess read it aloud without hesitation, "Ball of fire fell from the sky and landed in the desert, might be danger."

"Release me and bring me to my ship." The woman said as she brought the Princess higher off the ground before removing the chain from her neck and releasing her.

The Princess stepped away from her as the guard Captain went forward in anger. His fury towards the woman was halted only long enough for him to assure the Princess was alright. When that was done he went on to the woman and struck her with as much force as he could. She was struck again but in the stomach this time. The Princess looked over at the woman with anger for her actions but stilled the Captain's abuse as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He stepped away as the Princess spoke once more, "When my questions are answered you will be released. What has followed you to this land?"

"It was most likely space pirates." The woman said.

"Elaborate," The Princess said.

The woman sighed before beginning, "Space pirates are a strong group of pirates that raid planets and enslave their inhabitants. They're the reason the Galactic Federation has such a strong police force and their reach is so far in the Galaxy. Your planet is too far away for them to be known to you as this is uncharted space and the perfect place for the space pirates to come and conquer planets without anyone to stop them. The things they will do to this planet will not only be a threat to you but to all others if they find something of use here."

The Princess narrowed her eyes, "Do you have any proof of this."

"It's all in my database on my ship." The woman said. "Release me and I'll show you then take care of the space pirates."

"My army shall be sufficient to any threat they may pose." The Princess said.

"Your primitive army won't even be able to get past their defenses." The woman said. "I'll even prove it to you."

All were quiet for a moment before the Princess asked, "What is your name?"

"My name is Samus Aran." The woman replied.

"And what is this 'database' of yours?" The Princess asked.

"It's a technology you wouldn't even begin to understand." Samus said.

"Then show me." The Princes said.

The guard that held the keys went over quickly while the others held the hilts of their swords in case of an attack but none came as Samus was released. She rubbed her wrists and eyed each of them before the Princess left and she followed with the guards close behind her. No threat was made by the woman but the guards kept a constant threat against her as they travelled through the halls into the courtyard where she was then led to her crashed gunship.

The guards remained behind as she climbed on top of it with ease. She went to the hatch and popped open the small latch for the lock to manually deactivate her ship's defense. The hatch opened and she entered her ship without word to the others. She looked around at the condition her ship was in before going to the back of the ship to view how much power her ship had left and how bad the damage really was. Her gunship had less then 50% power and the damage was also pretty bad.

Samus went to her power suit next and checked its condition before converting the energy it had to her ships power supply. When that started she went to her database and turned it on before scanning through its vast amount of information for space pirate history and data. When she found all the information she needed to show the people outside she downloaded it to a hologram cube before taking her paralyzer and placing it on her side and leaving her ship once more.

She jumped off her ship and landed before the others as they sat in wait for the answers they sought. The cube was activated and tossed to the ground before them where the hologram automatically shot up and offered the menu of information on the cube. The observers automatically stepped back and brought up their guard as one said, "What is this magic."

"Not 'magic' but science." Samus said as she moved around the hologram and scanned through it before retrieving the footage of some portfolios of space pirate raids and attacks. She showed them images and videos as they were all in shock at the technology and the brutality they had shown. As they watched she adjusted the setting of her paralyzer to its weakest setting. When the hologram cube showed all the information needed for them to see it was shut off easily before Samus took aim at the guard Captain and shot at him.

He fell to the ground stunned shocking the guards and causing them to attack. Samus avoided the attack with ease and jumped onto her ship where she looked down at the guards, "The technology I have is much more suited to fight the space pirates then your own. If your little army even attempts to fight them they will drop like flies and their force will be lethal not just a stun round."

"Stun?" One guard repeated before checking the Captain to confirm he was still alive.

"He'll be fine in a moment." Samus said as he began to stir slightly as she readjusted the setting on her paralyzer. "There's work I have to do before I can depart for their landing site and there is also information I will need."

"What information do you need?" The Princess asked.

"I'll need a map and any information on this planet that would be of great power." Samus said. "If there is anything they find that they can use then they will use it to their advantage whether it's here or elsewhere on other planets."

"Then we will share information with you but only if you can confirm that it is these same pirates that you have shown us." The Princess said. "I'll have you escorted there so you can investigate. If you can confirm that it is what you think it is then any information you want is yours."

"Very well, but I'd like to see a map before I go." Samus said.

The Captain sat up in time to see the strange woman disappear into the ship once more. He looked to the others for answers on how they allowed her to get away so easily but found that they didn't seem to hold much concern so he questioned the guards present, "What's happened?"

"You will accompany her to investigate the threat that has come here." The Princess said sternly.

It wasn't long before Samus returned in near full armor of the likes none had ever seen before and of colors that represented no kingdom they were familiar with. She held her helmet in one hand and a strange object covered half of her right arm. She carried no sword and no bow on her armor and that strange hand held weapon that she had previously carried was also absent.

She jumped from the ship and landed before them with ease and met eyes with the Captain, who watched her angrily, for only a moment before she looked to the Princess. "These guards will accompany you with what you need and your travels."

Samus brought her gaze back to the guards for a moment before they led her to where she needed to go. She glanced back at the Princess who remained behind and found she was holding the hologram cube in her hand and examining it curiously as if trying to figure out how it worked. A slight smirk formed on her face as it started up and startled her making her drop it to the ground before attempting to sort through the vast information and learn from it only to be disappointed to find a language she didn't understand.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer; ****I own nothing in this fic.**

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Chapter 2

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2100 hours

Pending mission… Space pirate's invasion

Location scanning… Lake Hyrule

Samus stood on a small ledge as she looked out at a distant desert while two strange men of opposite height and size watched her nervously as they had never seen anyone like this. She was in full armor now as her visor had greater capabilities then her own vision. The setting was at its greatest distance but she still couldn't make anything out but the frigate itself was definitely of space pirate origin.

The small glimpse she had of the desert wasn't very informative for her as to why they landed there and not anywhere else. She continued to watch the large frigate as she asked, "Is there anything of importance out there?"

"All that's out there is the Arbiter Grounds." The short man said. "Everything else is a wasteland."

"There's also the great fairy fountain." The tall one added.

"That's just a myth." The short one said with a wave of the hand.

"These Arbiter Grounds, where can I get a better view of them?" Samus asked.

"You have to jump down into the lake to the look out over there." The guard Captain said as he showed her the lookout. "The only way down is by cucco."

"Is there any other way to see it?" Samus asked.

"You might have a decent view on the bridge but you wouldn't see much no matter how good your vision is." The short man said.

Samus looked over at the bridge for a short moment before leaving the house without word as the guards followed her. They walked in silence as there were no words to be said between them as they wanted to part from their unwanted company at first chance. As they reached the top of the stairs outside they were stopped by Samus as she spotted some activity in the distance by tall rocks that stood close to the path back to the castle but it wasn't space pirate, it seemed to be native.

"There are some creatures by the rocks." Samus said.

"That's nothing to be suspicious of." The Captain said. "There are many creatures in Hyrule that wonder about like this. A lot pose minor threats but there's no need for concern."

"I'm not concerned." Samus said. "Nothing your planet can throw at me is concerning."

The guards gave her an angered look at her judgment of their land as they couldn't accept her technology or 'science'. Their views on matters were completely opposite of the others as Samus's 'science' gave her much doubt to Hyrule's 'magic' and 'deities'. Both their views had very little in common as Hyrule's religion had yet to be abandoned and her science had long since abandoned the simple whim of religion.

They continued on and were soon ambushed by a hoard of goblins. They carried bows and clubs as they rushed the guards and Samus. The guards drew their swords to attack but Samus simply raised her power beam and shot a single shot at each one. Five shots were fired and five were killed before the rest fled in panic. Even the guards stood in shock as they had never seen such a power before.

Samus continued on without much care for the guard's reactions to her actions as she walked to the bridge without word. The guards followed momentarily but still speechless as she fired off another shot off to the side without even looking and a shriek from a goblin marked its death. They glanced over to where the shot had been fired to find the goblin falling off the side of the bridge with a bow still in hand.

When they reached the center of the bridge Samus stopped at the ledge and looked towards the desert once more before climbing up onto the ledge. She went up alone as the guards remained behind since they wouldn't be able to see anything. They lingered by the ledge, but clear of the woman, in silence as they awaited the strange woman they knew little about but dared not make a challenge to her now as their death would be guarantied.

After a moment Samus jumped off the ledge and walked off as the guards hurried to catch up to her. "What is the importance of the Arbiter Grounds?"

"It was built to hold the worst criminals ever known. The ones sentenced to death were sent directly to the underworld by a cursed mirror that was kept at the top of the prison." The Captain said. "All that's left in its ruins are the souls of the condemned that refuse to rest. The road there is impassible so none could try and claim the mirror for their own uses."

"What power does this mirror hold now?" Samus asked.

"None, it has been destroyed in the past couple of months." The Captain said. "Princess Zelda has even confirmed it with her own eyes."

"Zelda," Samus repeated in a mutter. "If the mirror has been destroyed then why is the road to the desert impassible?"

"It has been that way since the day the prison went to ruins." The Captain said. "The only way to travel there now is by cannon at the bottom of the lake and the only way down is by boat from Zora's Domain or by cucco. With the weight of your armor you may have difficulty getting down."

"I will not travel by means of cannon." Samus stated. "I'll repair my ship and fly there with more ease."

"How long will that take?" One guard asked.

"It should be done in a matter of days." Samus replied. "The space pirates will remain in that area for awhile before moving on to expand their territory."

"Are you certain of this?" The Captain asked.

"Positive." Samus confirmed. "I've fought many of them before and know how they act and expand their territories over captured planets. They are likely scanning their current location for test subjects and things of use for them so they have an increased force against any threat this planet may hold towards them."

"We must inform the Princess of this immediately." The Captain said.

"That is why we are returning to the castle." Samus said.

2215 hours

Pending mission… Repairs in a primitive land

Location scanning… Hyrule Castle [throne room]

Samus stood before the Princess with no need to bow before her as the soldiers did even with the dark looks she was getting from the men and women that stood beside the throne watching them. She was still in her power suit but had removed her helmet once more for her voice to be heard more clearly as she explained her findings and theories on what was happening in the desert. The others present in the room spoke of outrage and doubt only to be silenced as Zelda spoke,

"I have little doubt that what you say is false." Zelda said calmly. "What do you plan on doing now?"

"I will repair my ship and travel there in a matter of days." Samus said. "If they try to expand at all I'll take them all out and destroy any of their experiments."

"What will that do to our land?" One man asked in outrage. "We've all witnessed what you have done to the courtyard. What more will you destroy while you're here?"

"I was shot down and lost control of my ship." Samus stated. "I had only enough control of it to avoid the castle. If I hadn't this castle would no longer be here."

"It doesn't matter how you have arrived here." Zelda said calmly. "The castle and its surrounding wall is still intact preventing much work to be done. The grounds can be repaired with more ease then the walls of the castle. I am grateful that you have not done anymore damage then you have but that doesn't matter with this new threat in this land."

"The threat will not last very long and will not know anything outside of the desert." Samus confirmed. "I'm going to repair my ship so I can depart sooner."

Samus turned to leave without waiting for any form of permission from the Princess and none was given nor was she halted by her or the guards while the courts men were outraged by her behavior, "How dare you leave the Princess's throne without permission to do so? She is the ruler of this land and you will show her some respect, woman!"

Samus stopped and raised her power beam to the one that spoke to her as she allowed a beam to charge. She did not like to be disrespected by anyone. The guards offered no form of threat out of fear of her weaponry and didn't try to stand in the way as they didn't like either the courts men or this woman. Zelda rose to her feet at the threat and said, "Samus is not one of this land and so there is no reason for her to bow before me or even have my permission to do anything. However I do wish for cooperation between her and my court."

There was no word of cooperation on either side and Samus's threat was not dropped nor was the courts men's anger. As time went by the tension rose and it was no longer about Samus and the courts man it was Samus's anger against the Princess's word. For her to drop her threat was to obey the woman and she did not want to be controlled even in the slightest by this woman. The two women held their angered gaze at one another as all in the court looked between the two awaiting the next word or move to be made.

When nothing came to pass and their gaze turned to glares as it became clear to all that no cooperation would be had easily. They silently battled for domination over the other and all bore witness to the event. The odd part of this battle was that no threat was ever made to Zelda as the weapon was still pointed at the courts man. Their eyes narrowed at one another before Zelda smirked and Samus left the room as the charge beam dissolved into nothing.

The door was closed loudly marking the woman's leave. She collapsed against the wall in the hall dropping her helmet to place her hand on her forehead as sweat dripped down her face. The Princess had done something to her when their eyes were locked. There was no explaining it but it was as if her voice was in Samus's head and spoke to her. She had even seen a glimpse of this land shrouded in darkness and evil and a part of her felt fearful of that evil as it remained inside her as if staining her already tainted being.

She remained standing there for a couple of minutes before retrieving her helmet from the ground and putting it on and walking down the hallway at a quick pace to return to her ship sooner and make all the repairs that she could and rewire everything to run with the damage that she couldn't repair as she, along with this planet, lacked the necessary material to make all the repairs. She would have to 'acquire' some parts from the space pirates just to leave this planet. At her first chance she would leave this place behind.

Princess Zelda sat in her throne with a smug feeling inside her as she had overpowered the other woman that had her guards so terrified. She had used the abilities she had that Samus so openly dismissed to acquire the woman's submission in her presence. It wasn't something she was fond of doing and she rarely used it on others unless it was necessary to reserve her land from war. In this case she would have to use it against Samus often to assume a steady balance between her court and Samus's defiant attitude towards her rule.

Samus returned to her ship and immediately reconnected her power suit to her ships power to charge it with the rest of her energy tanks as she found it unlikely that she would need them here and if she ran into something troublesome then her skill and weaponry would more then make up for her lack of suit power. While her ship charged she opened a packed of instant food and tossed it into the instant oven and turned it on.

After two seconds it beeped and she took out the meal and went to her chair to enjoy the first meal she had since crashing here. It was one of the rare occasions she was free to eat this soon after a crash landing. This was the first time she had crash landed in a somewhat civilized civilization and was not met with an immediate attack but rather a somewhat warmer gesture then she usually was met with though there was still violence that ensued.

She took a bite of her meal and brought up a screen on the computer and went over the damage that could be repaired idly. After awhile she just sat back to relax but it wasn't for long as a small beeping started and a small red light came on in the corner of the screen. She tapped the light and a small window opened revealing the young Princess standing outside of her ship as she looked at it curiously but seemed to hold a slight anger in her eyes.

Samus observed the Princess for awhile before exiting her ship to allow her to have the discussion she wanted to have. When their eyes met the anger in Zelda's eyes slowly vanished. "What is it?"

"You never got the information you wanted." Zelda said. "You've done as I asked you to so I will do as you want me to and inform you on everything I can."

"Come in then." Samus said. "It would be easier to upload the data to my database if it's done at the same time."

She walked to the ledge of her ship and leaned down with a hand offered for the other woman. It was taken with a smile as Samus pulled the Princess up with complete ease and led her to the hatch before making her stand over it. She sank into the ship with a startled expression on her face making a slight smile form on her face before she entered as well. Zelda's eyes were wide with the shock of technology present as she stood in shock at her new surroundings.

Samus placed a hand on her shoulder to bring her out of her shock. Their eyes met for a moment before Samus led her to the side and pulled out the small cot from the wall and sat her down before going to her computer to enter the new information. When the log was ready she looked at Zelda and said, "Shall we start with history."

Zelda began with the history of Hyrule and, even though Samus found the religion foolish, she inputted everything into the log without pause or hesitation and asked as many question that she found necessary and held her skepticism to herself. She didn't care if her opinion would upset the Princess in her beliefs but she didn't state them to quicken the process of gathering information and she gathered as much of it as she could and more then just history but natives, the lands, their myths, and even their cultures.

When they finished their little information session Samus looked it all over contently before going to her power suit and removing the helmet to bring it to the main computer to upload the information to her personal database so she could identify them later on with the encounters she would have with them and she could upload it for any future use for her or others once she uploads this to the Galactic Federation's main database.

She stopped in the middle of what she was doing and brought up the map of Hyrule she had saved to her helmet's database and watched it carefully for a long time in silence. This was uncharted space and the Galactic Federation had no reach out here at all and not many travelled out as far as she had. Even with her data entry on this planet and the confirmation that its here not many would come this far for a long time. But what if the Galactic Federation decided to come out this far? What would happen to this land of religion and whims of magic?

Magic, perhaps there was more to it then she really believed. Samus looked back over at Zelda and said, "You did something to me before. What was it?"

"I used my power to pressure you into dropping your guard." Zelda replied calmly. "It isn't something I normally do to others. I only use it when I deem it is necessary to do so to ensure peace."

"Do you expect me to believe you used magic on me?" Samus asked skeptically.

"I expect you to believe whatever it is that you expect to believe." Zelda stated. "It certainty wasn't this 'technology' of yours."

"The way you speak to me is starting to aggravate me, Zelda." Samus said.

"You will refer to me by my proper title regardless of if you're of this land or not." The Princess replied.

Samus rose from her seat and went to the back of the ship to check the power that it had now and found it had raised to a decent amount now. She opened up a panel beside it exposing an array or wires, some of them fried and melted from the crash, and begin sorting and disconnecting the damaged ones only to replace them right away with new ones.

It wasn't long before Zelda was infuriated by Samus's ignorance towards her and she went over to command respect. She got a few feet before the weapon she had wielded earlier was pointed at her. Samus looked over at her and said, "Sit down or leave, it's your choice."

Zelda was temporarily taken aback before her anger grew once more as she became tempted to use her powers on this woman once more. Samus's eyes narrowed as she said, "I can feel when you try your little 'spell' on me and I won't hesitate to use this on you no matter if you're a Princess or not. Sit or leave."

This time it was Zelda that withdrew from her anger and sat down. Samus's eyes were much colder up close then half a room away. She had seen eyes that dark once before and she didn't want to see it again. She watched Samus in silence for awhile before asking, "Is it possible that you posses similar powers as me?"

"No," Samus stated bluntly.

"Then what was that that I had sensed from you?" Zelda asked almost distantly.

"Probably the intent to kill." Samus said coldly as she closed the panel and tossed the damaged wires aside and went to stand before the Princess. "Have you ever come face to face with someone that was about to kill you while you stood completely helpless? There was not even a single shred of hope for you to survive, not even as a prisoner. The type of situation that hardly anyone survives and to survive it is to cheat death."

Zelda's eyes were wide at the depth of cold in Samus's voice as the weapon she held was placed directly above her heart. "The paralyzer is not lethal but a shot at this range on the heart would stop it completely in the end killing you. Can you escape death with your 'powers'?"

There was nothing in Samus's words, voice, or even eyes that suggested that this was a joke. Zelda tried to move back but was instantly against the wall and the weapon still against her chest as she felt a twinge of fear inside her. Samus didn't move away or show any form of kindness though it had always been absent in the woman she had always been calm or irritated but there was never this depth of hatred. The weapon was pressed into her chest as she asked, "Have you ever felt this form of fear before?"

The only response given was a slow shake of the head and no more then that so Samus removed the weapon and went back to the rear of the ship to gather a long rectangular box before leaving the ship and the Princess in fear. No one had ever had the courage to do something like that to her and any confrontation she had been in had never been so close and so one sided. For the first time she was powerless in a situation and it terrified her as she had always been recognized as someone with high ranking even when she was imprisoned. No one had dared threaten her like she had just been threatened.

Zelda sat quietly as her body trembled a little despite her attempt to calm it. After a long time she had regained her composure and was once more filled with anger towards Samus for what had happened. She rose from the poor excuse of a bed to the exit and climbed out of the ship, as the exit had been left open either for later ease or so that she could leave when she wanted to.

She climbed out and found Samus was nowhere to be seen but from the sound she was likely below the ship. She hopped off the edge and found Samus lying on her back while removing something from the ship. "What are you doing?"

"I'm removing my rear thruster." Samus said simply. "On my way into orbit I hit the top of a mountain and lost my left one so I have to move this one to replace it so I won't veer to the right when flying. Either way my landings are going to be unbalanced however so I'll have to power down my ship completely which is fine because my generator has been damaged so I'll have to rely on my thrusters more then my main engine. I should be able to make it back to the nearest Trade Federation and get the proper repairs."

"What if you can't?" Zelda asked.

"Then I'll slowly drift through space and eventually die." Samus said with a slight shrug. "Unless the Galactic Federation can pick up a trace of my pulse beacon with their long range radar then I won't have any way of survival."

Zelda stood at a loss of what was just said before Samus simplified, "Consider a pulse beacon a fire and the long range radar a tower or search party."

"Aren't their others like you around?" Zelda asked.

"There are but it isn't likely they would help me." Samus stated. "At the most I can salvage another ship from the space pirate frigate and rip some parts off of that. I need to replace a few entry couplings since the buffer panel on the left wing is damaged but still usable."

"There sure is a lot to this metal." Zelda said as she placed a hand on the ship in slight awe. "Will the repairs take long?"

"That depends on how much is damaged and what I can salvage from the space pirates." Samus said. "I'll have to kill them all before I can take their equipment. Hopefully I'll be able to find a power supply as well there so I won't have to rely on my suit for my ships power so much."

"Your armor powers your ship?" Zelda asked in amazement.

"No, I'm just using the energy in my suit to boost the power of my ship." Samus said. "I normally use my ship's power to repower my suit. The type of energy is the same so I can convert it back and forth when I need to and with a working generator I never have to use my suit to bring power to my ship."

"You certainly know a lot about these things." Zelda remarked.

"It's necessary for me to know these things just like it's necessary for you to always show your strong side even when your frightened." Samus said. "Being strong isn't just about knowing your strengths but knowing your weaknesses and improving on them as you go along. You don't always have to put on a strong face. There are times to be afraid and times to grieve."

Zelda was taken aback by these words and angrily said, "You say this as if I do these things."

Samus stopped what she was doing for a moment and looked over at Zelda before returning to her task at hand. It wasn't long before she sat up as much as she could and brought herself out from under the ship while still carrying the rectangular box and removed herself from underneath it. She climbed on top of the ship once more and pulled out a short but wide tube with a nozzle on top before glancing at the Princess, who continued to watch her, and putting it away and moved on to a different part of the ship. Any welding would have to be done later and away from the Princesses eyes.

Zelda watched Samus filled with intrigue as she went about the repairs with apparent ease. She was now at the large hollow tubes at the back part of the ship making Zelda climb back up for a better view. There was silence as Samus continued on until she stopped with a slight sigh and said, "Take two steps to the right, you're in my light."

She did as she was told as Samus continued the repairs with various tools of the likes the Princess had never seen and doubted their very existence in Hyrule as she had not seen many tools. When she was done with this part of the ship she placed all the tools in the box and went back to the hatch as she said, "It isn't wise to stand on top of a ship when it's about to take flight. You can either be inside or outside to watch but keep a good distance."

Zelda hopped off the ship anxious to see what it could do. She walked away at a quick pace so she wouldn't miss a thing. "That's good enough."

She looked back at Samus to find a slight smile on the woman's face as if knowing how much she wanted to see this. Samus reentered the ship and there was nothing for a moment as Zelda waited patiently for anything to happen but as time went by she became sourly disappointed at the inactivity of the ship. She was hoping to see it make any form of movement at all even if Samus's effort was in vain and it didn't do much. Just a simple shift would be enough to excite her.

Samus relaxed in her chair with a window open on her computer as she watched Zelda with growing amusement as her excitement began to die down little by little as her disappointment sank in from the lack of events. The ship would move and Samus was well aware of that and it was simply waiting her command now but she had to taunt the Princess, who couldn't hide her curiosity or excitement towards her technology as anyone not completely interested in it would have fled shortly after she had threatened them. A smile formed on her face as she straightened up in her chair and began to power up her gunship.

Zelda's eyes widened with disbelief and fear as fire began spewing out of the tubes of the ship, the two large ones in the back and the three small ones underneath the ship. The three underneath shifted direction and forced the ship up into the air as the whole thing made a strange sound that was both frightful and calming for her. The ship leveled out and shifted to the side before landing on the ground out of the small trench it had made during the crash.

By this time Samus was completely amused as she watched Zelda from the window of her ship. It wasn't long before she couldn't hide her amusement so she hit a switch on the control causing a shutter to cover the window so Zelda couldn't look in and see her laugh. The laughter was short lived as all her amusement was and she was soon back to reorganizing her data base and replacing lost files with ones from her helmet's data base. It wasn't long before she was rejoined by the Princess as she spoke words of amazement and awe.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer; ****I own nothing in this fic.**

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Chapter 3

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0800 hours

Pending mission… Frigate

Location scanning… Hyrule Castle [courtyard]

Samus was preparing to venture out into the desert to begin her assault on the space pirates. She was just doing a few last minute checks on her ship to make sure it would be okay to fly the distance needed and that its defenses were functioning properly. There wasn't much that she could do to repair her ship and would definitely need to salvage something from the space pirates just to leave the atmosphere and still have enough power to travel at least 1,500 clicks to Toa 6 where her pulse beacon would be found by someone of the Galactic Federation or the Trade Federation. Either one would have the resources she needed for repairs.

She heard the hatch to her ship open and glanced over to find Zelda entering her ship. "I was just about to leave."

"You're not going there alone." Zelda said. "You have shown me the evidence of their brutality and I request that you bring some of my finest soldiers with you."

"You request?" Samus asked. "I didn't know royalty requested things from bounty hunters other then heads."

"Royalty hardly makes requests of any kind." Zelda said. "But I am not asking you as royalty but as one who is concerned for their land."

"Is that all you have concern for?" Samus asked. "It's strange that you seem to care more for your land then your own people. Are you a bad ruler, Zelda?"

"I asked for you to call me by my proper title." Zelda said sternly.

"You demanded it and I denied you." Samus said. "Titles mean little."

"A mere bounty hunter like yourself knows nothing of respect." Zelda said angrily.

"Yet you seem to be the one at a loss." Samus replied. "Anyone of high ranking has a title no matter the deeds they have done. Any of royal bloodline has right to the throne but that doesn't make them heir nor does that give them the right to be respected. No matter the standing respect is the same. It is not given with a title or birth but earned through actions. Many are falsely given titles and respect when they shouldn't have any of that at all."

"I have earned the respect of my people long ago." Zelda said.

"I am not one of your people and you have shown me no reason to show you respect." Samus said. "I too have not received an ounce of respect from you but I have not tried to earn it as I know I won't be here for very long after the space pirates are destroyed."

"Then what would it take to have you show me proper respect?" Zelda asked.

"Now you beg me for it?" Samus asked. "Any small form of respect I held for you has gone at that question."

"Then I'll travel with you and fight alongside you." Zelda said. "This is not your land to defend but my own and I wish to fight for it alongside you."

"No," Samus said immediately. "I will not have you accompany me at all."

"Do you doubt my strength?" Zelda asked angrily.

"I'm not even considering your strength." Samus stated. "I'm considering your lack of knowledge of the technology they have and that I have. You wield swords and they wield ranged weapons that can kill you before you can even draw your weapon. I have encountered the creatures of your land and they are no threat to me while space pirates and their experiments will destroy you.

"You may think I'm underestimating you but I am not. You are the one underestimating them. There are Galactic armies trained to control the space pirates and I have seen many battles against them and many losses. All your race will know against them is loss."

"If they're so strong then why do you intend on going alone?" Zelda asked.

"I am a bounty hunter, I act alone." Samus stated. "My strength and skill are far above any that you have witnessed and ever will witness."

"I am not limited to just a sword as you assume." Zelda continued to argue but Samus was no longer paying attention as she scrolled through her database in search of a space pirate experiment on any creature that would be enough to frighten the young inexperienced Princess.

In the end she decided a series of experiments would be best to discourage her and set it all up before looking to the Princess, "Let me show you why you won't survive."

Samus left the seat and allowed Zelda to sit and view everything with some aid. Everything was explained and all video's present were shown to her but even still she was unwavering with the decision to go as well. When everything was shown to Zelda she fixed her eyes on Samus and once more she tried to instill fear into the other woman. Before she could have her way Samus walked off and ignored her completely to check how much energy her suit currently had. It wasn't much but it was enough.

She stopped the power conversion and looked back at the Princess to find her eyes still held their anger as she was content on going along with the bounty hunter. There were no words between them now as Samus went to the rear of her ship for a manual start up. "This is your last chance to leave."

There was a bit of movement behind her relieving Samus into believing that the Princess had taken her leave. As she turned around to go back to the controls she found Zelda sitting on the bed with crossed arms and a cool look in her eyes. They held the others gaze for a short moment before Samus went to her seat and arranged the settings before bringing up the map of Hyrule on her computer for reference and guidance.

She was hesitant with the controls before lifting off the ground and flying out of the courtyard towards the desert. "I had expected this to be a lot different."

Samus glanced over at Zelda standing right beside the chair and found her unease. She brought her attention back to the land she flew over and on occasion the map she had even though she had a good grasp of the direction she was going in. The flight was made in silence as Zelda was speechless at her first experience of controlled flight. When they arrived at the desert Samus allowed her gunship to hover high above the ground as she rose from her seat and ushered Zelda to sit, "I'll let you land it."

Zelda's eyes were wide with nervousness as she looked at Samus then to the controls as she was sat down and her hands were placed on the controls as she guided the Princess through the process, "Hold it steady and flip this switch here."

The gunship began it's decent at a quick pace as Samus went to dawn her suit quickly. It was only a before moment the gunship landed and she was returning to Zelda's side, "Now to activate the defenses open this here and hit activate."

Zelda did as she was instructed before leaning back on the chair as she said, "This technology isn't as difficult to master then I had originally thought."

Samus remained silent as she pressed a button above the seat strapping Zelda in and startling her as she gasped and struggled against the restraints. She struggled angrily as Samus walked away and put on her helmet before leaving the ship. The moment she was out she moved away from the hatch and crouched down to lock the hatch manually so there was no way it would open from the inside.

She jumped off the ship with a slight smirk as she had made Zelda take back her word so quickly as she now struggled to try and free herself. There was never any intention to allow Zelda to follow her but didn't want to continue to argue with her as it would have been a waste of time and taken all day. Samus walked towards the frigate and glanced into her ship at Zelda as she was infuriated with what had happened and she tried to get out of the seatbelt.

After a couple minutes of walking she streamed a radio connection with her ship. It chimed to announce connection though Zelda's startled reaction to the new connection was enough for her to know it was on. A slight smirk formed on her face once more as she said, "The red button above the seat will release the seatbelt… You can't get out of the ship no matter how hard you try. I've locked it from the outside."

"How dare you leave me behind like this." Zelda said angrily.

"I never had the intention of doing this with anyone." Samus stated. "I had only allowed you to come along because arguing with you is a waste of time."

"Why do you have to do this alone?" Zelda asked. "I could have sent as many soldiers as you needed."

"Any soldier that enters battle with me dies." Samus said. "I can tell how stubborn you are and that's why I didn't force you out of my ship before leaving the castle. I locked you in there so you would be safe and no harm would come to you."

Zelda's eyes widened slightly at the tone in Samus's voice at her final words. For the first time there was a sense of vulnerability as if she held a bit of fear that wasn't forced on her but was held inside her already. This wasn't like any fear she could impose on others as it ran much deeper then any fear she could dare to inflict on another. "Are you alright, Samus?"

There was a short silence before Samus replied coolly, "I'm fine."

Zelda leaned back in the seat she was in with a slight sinking feeling at the response she had been given. The two women were silent for a moment as Zelda watched Samus disappear over a sand dune and her concern grew for her safety. "Samus, you said these space pirates were very dangerous. Will you be alright on your own like this?"

"Yes," Samus said immediately. "I have fought groups of space pirates on my own many times before. This is nothing new to me."

Samus continued on with slight difficulty in the sand as her suit made her sink down with each step she made. As she walked she noticed some of the sand around her shifting slightly. She came to a slow stop and activated her thermal visor and looked around at the various heat signatures around her. She readied herself as they began to shift though she was completely calm, "Zelda, the natives of the desert… they burrow underground, right?"

"Yes, why?" Zelda asked no longer caring about the disrespect given.

"How dangerous are they in large groups?" Samus asked calmly.

"If they attack all at once they can become pretty dangerous." Zelda said. "They're territorial so if you go near them they'll attack."

"Well, it looks like I'm in their territory." Samus said as she continued on almost provokingly without care.

It wasn't long before they burst out of the sand and attacked her. Samus avoided them easily and shot each with a single shot sending them off to the side where they scattered to regroup or run off. She fought them off with complete ease while scanning the creatures to identify their biology. When the scan was complete it was instantly uploaded to her database and automatically organized in the file for Hyrule.

Soon they were all killed or gone and she continued on and on occasion attacked by more of them but they were all killed with ease. Samus continued on quietly as Zelda was also quiet. There was nothing to be said between them at the moment and it was likely to remain that way for most of the time Samus was away from her gunship. She reached a small gorge and jumped over it with ease only to sink into the sand once more.

She sighed as she tried to free herself from the sand. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, my armor is just a little bit too heavy to travel through the sand." Samus said. "I should have mentioned this earlier but if you get hungry there are food packets on the side of my ship across from the bed. Just open it and put it in the small box and hit the green button and it will make you a meal instantly. It might not be as 'luxurious' as you're used to but it won't be like anything you know."

"I'm not hungry." Zelda said.

"Then don't eat." Samus said simply.

Once more they fell silent as Samus continued on through the desert until she felt the ground begin to rumble under her feet. She hurried to a flat rock for better footing for what was to come. Her thermal visor was on once more and her aim was on the large heat signature below the sand. It was deep down but its size made it visible for her to see from where she stood. "Those creatures that burrow under the sand, how big do they get?"

"Not very big, at most they reach the size of a small pig." Zelda said.

"Then what else burrows under the sand here?" Samus asked.

"Nothing very big." Zelda said.

Samus narrowed her eyes as she recorded the heat signature and said, "I'm sending you what I'm seeing now. It should appear as a small light on the screen touch it and you'll see what I'm seeing now."

After a moment Zelda said, "All I see are blobs of colors."

"It's a heat reading, the colors in the center is the creature beneath the sand." Samus said. "From the size of it it's bigger then my ship and pretty deep down under the sand."

"I don't know of any creature of that size in all of Hyrule." Zelda said slowly.

Samus brought her gaze away from the creature and up to the frigate as she allowed her visor to return to its normal mode. Her gaze held it for only a moment before she brought her gaze to her power beam and adjusted some of the settings for the coming battle as she had clearly disturbed the creature below her and it would likely attack her.

"Samus, what do you plan on doing?" Zelda asked as she continued to watch the screen where she was still able to see what Samus was seeing and doing.

"I'll do whatever I have to do." Samus confirmed as she finished adjusting the settings before the small control system flipped back to its usual position before Samus continued on and walking right above the creature she had spotted.

It wasn't long before there was rumbling once more beneath her feet but louder as the sand began to shift now. Samus allowed a charge beam to form as she began to sprint away from the creature to put some distance from where it would come up. It came out right behind her and Samus dived to the side and turned to shoot at the creature and get a brief glimpse of it.

Her attack did near nothing to the creature and she wasn't able to scan it fully before it disappeared once more under the ground. It was a large wormlike creature that reminded her of another she fought long ago but this one wore armor to protect it from normal beam weaponry. Samus was up and her thermal visor was on as she tracked the creature as it turned under the sand and readied for another attack as she did the same allowing another charge beam to form.

She stood ready for it as it came at her once more underground. Samus ran towards it without care as it surfaced and she jumped over it in a flip and combined her missiles with her charge beam and shot it off at the top of its head. She landed on the creature's tail and jumped off and shifted into morph ball mode to prevent burying her legs in the sand.

Samus rolled away a bit before shifting back to her normal form as she looked back at the creature and finished her scan as it slowly retreated underground. She reviewed the scan and found it was a native of Hyrule infused with phazon and had a horrible mutation. It was the same type of creature she had encountered earlier. Her thermal visor was once more active as she traced the creature through the ground with a charge beam ready to be fired with a mix of missiles at first chance.

As it came at her once more she readied for it as she bent her knees to avoid it at the right moment. It was covered in armor and with the mutation it was stronger then that of the non-mutated ones so she would have to attack a non-armored part of its body. Once more it burst out of the sand but Samus didn't move as she took aim right down its open mouth as it intended on eating her. Her eyes narrowed as she fired the shot and then shifted into morph ball mode and rolled under it with a boost to avoid it once more.

The creature hit the ground with a shriek as Samus shifted forms and turned as it staggered to try and get back under ground. She wasted no time in sprinting back at it with yet another charge beam ready. It was thrust into its mouth as another super missile was shot into it causing its body to spasm before it fell still as it died.

"You see now what they do to the natives of the planets they invade." Samus said. "Seeing it now, do you still wish to be fighting by my side or subject your soldiers to this?"

"How could a moldorm grow to such a size?" Zelda asked fearfully.

"It was infused with phazon and mutated into what you just saw." Samus said. "They won't stop at just one and I don't doubt that more experiments are being made right now."

"You have to stop them." Zelda said immediately.

"I'm well aware of that." Samus said calmly. "There are reasons for what I do."

Samus walked off leaving the creature to rot as Zelda spoke once more, "Why do you fight these things?"

There was no response as Samus ended the video connection she had with Zelda leaving her blind to what was happening. She continued on without word and on occasion killing stray moldorms and another type of creature that posed minor threat to her. No words were said between the two women once more as Samus continued on to the frigate.

She slowed to a stop as she noticed a few pieces of metal sticking out of the ground. She aimed at one and shot at it causing a series of explosions as a line of mines exploded. Samus took another step forward before coming to another stop and reanalyzing her surroundings with her combat, thermal, and x-ray visor to determine that there was more to the line of defense then out of date mines.

As she determined the mines were a rouse as she found a few hidden sentry guns under the sand as well but their heat signature gave them away. Samus continued towards the sentry guns with her power beam aimed at the closet one and had it charged and ready. The instant it activated it was destroyed and another charge beam was powering up for the next sentry gun as Samus made her way through them with ease.

"Can I ask you something?" Samus asked as she blew up yet another sentry gun.

"Sure," Zelda said as she relaxed in the chair and browsed through the computer as she began to get the hang of it.

"Are you content with your life?" Samus asked.

"My life is fine." Zelda said. "Why do you ask?"

"You're born into your position and you have no choice in the matter." Samus stated. "The way your life is you must not be able to do much for yourself. If it were me I'd jump on the first chance at an escape. Is that why you wanted to come with me?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Zelda stated.

"I'm not one of your people, my life doesn't matter to you." Samus said.

"All life matters, Samus." Zelda said calmly. "Even if you are not of the Hylian race your life matters to me."

"Why is that?" Samus asked. "What draws you to me? I've noticed it in your eyes when we first met."

"I've never encountered someone like you." Zelda said. "You came from the heavens and throw yourself into danger to save a race you know little about. There's only been one other person I have met that has done something like that but he was from the forest and had ulterior motives in the beginning but became involved in greater matters and saved Hyrule."

"Where is this man now?" Samus asked.

"He returned to his home in the forest." Zelda replied. "I haven't seen him since he left."

"Do you miss him?" Samus asked.

Zelda was silent for a moment before saying, "I didn't know much about him but in the end we fought side by side for a bit. We spent only a couple of hours together but I never really got to know him. I always thought that if trouble were to come to Hyrule again that I would need his help once more but when you came I thought the time might come sooner then I originally believed.

"When I received word that this thing came also I feared the worst but when I spoke to you…" She trailed off for a moment. "I felt that everything would be alright."

"You even felt that way when I held the chain around your neck?" Samus asked. "There's still a bruise on your neck."

Zelda placed a hand on the side of her neck where the mark was and said, "I didn't feel that you would actually kill me."

"Clever," Samus said but more towards the locking mechanism on the frigate then Zelda's belief. She was right though, Samus never once intended to end her life but it wasn't about to be stated openly. Samus entered the space pirate's system and unlocked the door before entering the frigate with her guard raised. It was unlikely that she was undetected as their defenses were all destroyed and the space pirates were already aware of her presence on this planet.

She walked in quietly as she heard them lurking in the hanger. Her guard was raised and she looked at everything that moved as she knew she was being watched now. She didn't like this at all. A quick beeping behind her made her turn to find a sentry drone signaling the alarm system and putting the area into lockdown. The space pirates roared as some jumped from the platforms that lined the hanger and others remained above to fire down on her.

"Samus, what's happening?" Zelda asked clearly startled by the sound she heard.

No response was given to the Princess as the green light that had appeared on the screen when the conversation started went red. Zelda's eyes widened with fear as even she identified that that was not a good thing. She called out to Samus in hopes for a response but to no avail. The small sinking feeling she had held earlier had returned but worsened as she feared the worst for the other woman. No matter how much Zelda called out for her there was no response given.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer; ****I own nothing in this fic.**

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

0945 hours

Pending mission… Experiment C57N

Location scanning… Gerudo Desert [Frigate]

Zelda sat in the chair with an aching throat as she had recently stopped yelling for Samus. It had been a long time since she had last heard anything from where Samus was. A part of her ached like she had lost someone really close to her even though they had only known each other for two days they had a small connection that the Princess could not explain. It was as though Samus could understand the pain that she never dared to talk about before.

"You never really answered me before." She heard Samus say.

Zelda sat up quickly and found the red light had turned green once more. A smile formed on her face in relief that took away the anger she should have felt. "Are you alright, Samus?"

"I'm fine." Samus replied. "I was ambushed so I disconnected the radio so I could concentrate easier."

"Are you hurt?" Zelda asked with worry.

"No, I'm fine." Samus said. "I've only received minor damage."

"What does that mean?" Zelda asked frantically.

"My suit has been damaged a little but its fine." Samus assured. "I can't respond to much because it might give away my position to easily so if I don't respond it's because I'm near an enemy."

"Alright, but what did you mean earlier?" Zelda asked.

"You never really answered me when I asked you if you missed the man that saved Hyrule last." Samus said.

"At times I did but it was more from curiosity as to why he did so much so willingly." Zelda said. "I suppose it isn't so abnormal for people to want to do whatever they can in a time of great danger to ensure the safety of others even if those people are complete strangers."

"You live a very sheltered life, Zelda." Samus said. "There are some that would choose to protect others and then there are some who would turn their back on everything for power even if it costs the lives of their friends or comrades or even their families. It doesn't matter to those as all they care about is power but sometimes they see their wrong and change for the better."

"Have you found your wrong then?" Zelda asked hesitantly.

"Don't put me with them." Samus said. "Just because I prefer solace doesn't mean I won't do what I can for others. My focus is just my work but there are times my focus changes."

"When does this happen?" Zelda asked.

Samus didn't respond as she felt a slight shaking in the hallway she was in. She brought her guard up as she left the hallway and entered the next room and found it empty so she responded to the Princess's question, "It happens when something catches my interest."

"Is that often?" Zelda asked.

"You're fond of asking questions aren't you?" Samus asked in response. "My life is my own and I like to keep it that way."

"Yet you answered my other questions." Zelda stated.

"It was to humor you." Samus said. "I don't like talking about myself."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Zelda asked.

"I'd rather have silence." Samus replied calmly as she exited the room and found a laboratory filled with native creatures of this planet along with many others. She scanned all of them for further information before scanning all the computers present in the room and uploading all the data present to her database. As she got to one computer she found a phrase she was familiar with, Experiment-C57N. "Zelda, run my database for the term 'Experiment-C57N', it should be space pirate related."

Zelda stared at the screen at a complete loss of how to do that as she had just scrolled through random files and not in any specific direction or path. "How do I do that exactly?"

"In the bottom left of the screen there should be a blue bar, touch it and you will be able to search my files easily." Samus said then paused for her to do that. When that action was confirmed she continued, "Now there should be a keypad below a white bar with a flashing line. Enter in the letters that spell 'Experiment-C57N'."

"Our languages differ when written." Zelda said. "I cannot read your words just as you cannot read mine."

Samus sighed as this would take longer then she had anticipated as she hoped to be four rooms away before she got all the information she wanted. She walked to the screen and found the words she needed and said, "I'm going to send you just an image of the word and type in what you see. I'll inform you on how to send the data to me after."

She did what she had to do and sent the image. As she waited she scanned the other computers and found the term more then once making her concern grow on the matter. "Alright, I've got it here. No what do I do?"

"Touch the name to bring it up and in the top right corner you should see a rectangle with an edge bent and an arrow inside of it, touch that also." Samus said as she envisioned the screen in her mind. "Another small window should have come up. Tap the green box."

There was a momentary delay before it appeared in her helmet's database and she accessed it from there and read it quickly. Soon her eyes were wide with fear at what the experiment was. The space Pirates had attempted this long ago but didn't have the necessary materials to complete it so it was never finished but now it seemed they had found it here in this desert. If this was created then it would cause massive devastation for whatever planet or colony it was unleashed on.

Samus left the room quickly in search of any trace of the experiment to destroy it along with any thesis or data had on it so that it could never be used again. She was hesitant before on allowing the Galactic Federation to know of this place as it was at peace with the lack of technology but if this planet could be used for space pirate's gain then she would have to report it to them so that all other beings in the galaxy would be safe.

"I think I've found my wrong." Samus said distantly.

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked.

"The experiment is very dangerous and if they have found the material on this planet to complete it then it will lead to a lot of destruction." Samus said as she clenched her fist. "I was hesitant on reporting this planet to the Galactic Federation but I may not have a choice now. If that happens and they come here… your land will change greatly and at too quick of a pace as technology will be brought. It wouldn't be long before you look over your land and wonder where it had gone."

"You wouldn't listen if I forbid you from doing this would you." Zelda said sadly after awhile.

"I might not have a choice, Zelda." Samus said. "If the source is here I'll have to report it or destroy it."

"But what if you destroy it and my land dies because of it?" Zelda asked.

"I will search out all alternative options that exist and speak to you about all of them." Samus said. "I never intended to give you my full cooperation but you have it."

"Thank you." Zelda said. "Perhaps it was best that I remained on your ship."

Samus didn't respond as she didn't want to admit to her agreement in the matter. She continued on and found another room and entered it to find it was the engine room. Her scan visor went over everything and she found a layout of the ship. She went over it briefly and determined points of interest and marked them with tiny waypoints for easier navigation.

She looked around the room and found a place to steal the ships energy and converge it to her suit and went to it immediately as she said, "I need to disconnect our communications for a moment to charge my suit."

The wave was disconnected before she was questioned on the matter as she began the converging process. With the Chozo technology she could convert any energy source to be compatible with her own which was often extremely useful and life saving and why she had always survived her missions when others didn't when they accompanied her. The power suit was far more superior to any other as it was built by the Chozo, an ancient and very intelligent race.

She converted as much energy as her suit could hold before she stopped and reestablished a connection with Zelda and looked around the room once more in hopes of a portable power source that she could take with her easily. She found none and an engine she was not willing to take apart for her own use. A sigh escaped her as she knew she might have to drift in space in hopes of making it back to any form of colony or civilization with advanced technology.

"Has something happened?" Zelda asked.

"No, I was examining the engine they have and it's a Capissin 38." Samus said then simplified. "They aren't very good and mostly just fall out of the sky."

"Your ship fell out of the sky." Zelda said.

"I was shot down." Samus said angrily. "My engine doesn't fail mid flight like this one does. Mine's only damaged from the crash. There were no technical difficulties in flight."

"I'm unfamiliar with the terms you are using." Zelda said.

"Mine is better." Samus said slowly and mockingly. "Their technology is faulted and does not work like it should."

"You don't have to mock me." Zelda said with clear irritation.

"Then don't make it so easy." Samus said with a smirk as she found it easy to relax around her and she had never been able to do that around others. This was a new feeling for her and she was beginning to like it. "If you didn't make it so easy to mock you I wouldn't do it so often."

"Just don't do it anymore it irritates me." Zelda said.

"You've never been looked down on have you?" Samus asked.

"No I haven't." Zelda said. "And I don't wish to be looked down upon by you."

"Does it make you feel inferior to me?" Samus asked with slight amusement.

There was no response from Zelda causing some concern that wasn't voiced as a loud roar was head through the ventilation. Not long after the hall began to shake once more with a loud bang from the creature that struggled against its captives. Samus quickened her pace as she used the map for reference of what room was large enough to contain the creature and found she was already really close to the door that led directly to it. There was just one hallway between her and another large battle.

"I want to see what you see right now." Zelda demanded.

Samus didn't respond but did as she was told as this creature was likely made by Experiment-C57N or it was a phazon mutation as well. There was silence from Zelda as Samus hurried down the hall towards the creature and encountered two space pirates along the way. The two attacked her immediately and she slowed to fire her power beam at them at a rapid pace.

Zelda watched in amazement at how Samus fought the two creatures with such agility in the small space and seemed to be completely calm even as they attacked with the same sort of weaponry and even hit her. Every attack that hit Samus brought fear upon Zelda as she was afraid for the bounty hunter who fought for a land she was new to. It didn't seem right for her to fight so hard for Hyrule but she didn't once hold complaint about her task just the people around her though the two women got along for the most part.

The two enemies were defeated and Samus continued on at the same pace as before and entered a strange door where she stopped at the sight she found. Zelda's eyes were wide with shock and fear at the creature before Samus. A part of her regretted requesting to see what the creature was. It wasn't long before she noticed the green light go red once more signaling the lost connection. She watched on in silence as Samus looked around the room as the screen changed slightly and small 'windows' began popping up for an instant before disappearing and replaced shortly after by another one.

This action was curious to her but she simply assumed it was data but to collect and go through it so fast was incredible. It seemed only a minute had passed before Samus looked back to the creature and seemed to gather data from that as well before looking down at it from the railing as it seemed to be asleep which was odd considering the noise it was making not long ago.

Samus walked along the walkway but kept her eyes on the creature before coming across more screens of light and began gathering data from that as well. She seemed to stop halfway through the small screens to look at something across the room. Somehow it seemed that she went right to it as the object of her focus was right in front of her now and held words Zelda couldn't read but she memorized the letters incase she would have to find the information on the database before her.

"I'm really grateful you're not here right now." Samus muttered to herself as she looked at the multiple tanks on the other side of the room labeled 'G-23 Paxilon Hydroclorate'. It was a newly developed gas substance that removed aggression from those that breathed it. The substance was being fed into the creature through a tube ensuring that no space pirate would be affected by it.

From the research she had found they were making this creature immune for future combined use. The idea was for the creature to fight the war that its opponents would not be able to fight as they would no longer be aggressive. Yet another thing that would have to be destroyed before she left the frigate and another thing that had to be reported. Fortunately for her though this thing would be destroyed easily as its aggression level should be very low at the moment.

She continued scanning everything to find any form of weakness of this creature incase it became a relatively large threat to her or it managed to escape the frigate. It seemed unlikely due to its size but if it could break through the walls then it would be a major problem. The best option was to kill it now but there didn't seem to be any vulnerability on it given in the data she found on the experiment.

Samus continued along the walkway scanning everything of interest before she came to the end of the walkway. Of all the data she uncovered nothing was stated on a potential vulnerability. She looked around the bottom floor of the room and found cryogenic chambers against the wall she entered the room on that contained a couple elite pirates. This wasn't a battle she could win. If one noticed her presence then the others would be alerted to it as well.

She left the room in hopes of finding an alternate way of disposing the experiment and the elite pirates. The elite pirates she could handle but the experiment posed an unknown threat that she wasn't anxious on testing it with the other threat present in the room. When she was halfway down the hall she reestablished connection with Zelda to offer an explanation on why she had done nothing, "It was too dangerous. I'll have to find an alternate method."

"So there are even situations that you deem too dangerous to handle." Zelda replied.

"It was simply the combination of the elite pirates and the experiment in the room." Samus said. "If it was just the creature or the elite pirates then there would be no problem. I found nothing on the experiment that signified vulnerability that I could exploit."

"Is that even possible?" Zelda asked.

"That creature is not natural and has been modified so that there is no weakness." Samus said. "That was the idea for Metroid Prime as well."

"What would that be?" Zelda asked.

"A massive threat that I managed to dispose of on Tallon IV a few cycles back." Samus said. "With my technology and modifications there aren't many situations that I can't handle on my own."

"Would that have been one of those situations?" Zelda asked.

"No, it was just not an ideal situation to be in." Samus said. "If I can find a method to destroy the creature then I wouldn't care about being in that situation."

"Don't throw yourself into a bad situation if you don't have to, Samus" Zelda said.

"I don't put myself into situations that I can't handle unless there's no other way." Samus said.

"Is that why you walked away?" Zelda asked.

Samus didn't respond as she found a mega turret in the room she entered. It activated as it registered her as an intruder. She ran to the side as it opened fire on her and took cover behind some crates. The crates didn't offer her much protection as the fire power destroyed them quickly but Samus was already moving to avoid the fire.

It wasn't very long before she found their control system that always seemed to be conveniently located close by. She hacked the system and the turret beeped a few times and shut off. As the turret retreated to its offline position Samus glanced back at the destroyed crates to see if there was anything of use in them only to notice the damaged cryogenic tube behind it contained a metroid. It stirred from its cryogenic state as Samus switched her beam modes and allowed it to charge as she said, "This is the first stage of a metroid and it's the easiest to experiment on."

The metroid broke free of its confinement and shook off the ice as it remained near the ground. Samus made a quick scan while it was no threat to her and found minor mutations in it. It rose to its preferred height before floating over to her with an alerted noise. It hovered in front of her for a moment as she watched it patiently as it prepared for an attack.

They both started their attack at the same time as it readied to lunge at her and she raised her ice beam at it. It attacked and she fired the beam freezing it instantly before she stepped away as it hurtled to the ground and smashed into pieces. She walked away without care as Zelda spoke, "You make these things seem so easy. If it were me there I doubt I'd be able to do things at the same pace."

"I've done this before." Samus stated.

"But even against enemies you have never encountered before you handle it with such ease." Zelda said. "I heard how you killed the bulblins before my men could even do anything against them."

"That was due to the range of my power beam and the fire power it wields." Samus said. "The rest fled after a few were shot down and the rest of the ambushes weren't too clever."

"Bulblins aren't known for having much intelligence." Zelda said. "They're just a typical race of thieves."

"Other then the Hylian race, are there any other intelligent forms of life here?" Samus asked.

"There are just Gorons and Zoras." Zelda said. "The Gorons are creatures of the mountains and most reside on Death Mountain while the Zoras reside at their domain at the head of the river leading to Lake Hylia."

"This planet is very interesting." Samus said as she continued through the room and into another room that seemed to be an armory.

Once more many small things appeared and vanished on the screen Zelda watched intently. Something seemed to catch both of their attention as it was in a tube like container with rings moving up and down along the tube. This too was scanned before Samus looked around the room once more and scanned everything else without walking away from the object.

The slight hum that Zelda was able to hear died down as Samus looked back at the object and there was no longer anything around it. Samus reached for it and the object glowed at her touch before it disappeared as her hand began to glow. She clasped her hand shut as if to capture whatever was left of it. Samus inhaled deep enough for Zelda to hear it as the screen dimmed a little before returning to what it was originally.

"What was all that?" Zelda asked curiously.

"It was an upgrade for my suit." Samus said.

"They have that lying around for you?" Zelda asked a little surprised.

"No, but my technology can convert it to be compatible with my power suit so I can steal their technology at will." Samus said. "It gives me any advantages I need against the space pirates as they tend to design obvious flaws in their technology and the weapons to exploit them."

"Why would they do something that foolish?" Zelda asked.

"A highly radio active substance they use in their experiments called 'phazon' often causes madness among their ranks so they need the technology to defeat any threats that may be posed to them." Samus said. "This upgrade gives me another beam mode."

"Will this help you against that creature?" Zelda asked hopefully.

"It might but I'm not sure." Samus said. "Either way I'll still have the elite pirates to deal with unless they take themselves out."

"Is that likely?" Zelda asked.

"It works with metroids." Samus said as she began to steal ammunition from the armory as well.

Samus topped up everything she needed before leaving the armory while making note of it on her map to make it easier to backtrack when she needed to. She left the room quickly and hurried on to the bridge. There was no more words spoken as the sound of space pirates were heard once more and Samus slowed her pace to a quick walk as she brought on her x-ray visor to search through the walls for them.

Three came down from the vents as she was halfway through the wide hall. She switched back to her combat visor only to find they were shadow pirates. A slight glimpse of movement told her to move away and she just barely avoided an attack as she switched to her thermal visor. She was able to avoid most of their attacks while still taking minor damage, as her suit had been fully charged and her energy tanks were maxed out as well.

Samus fought them all off with her power beam and an occasional missile while Zelda respectfully remained silent and allowed her to concentrate. She fended off the space pirates with minor difficulty as she kept a good distance away from them knowing that they only used close ranged attacks because their camouflage took up too much power so they couldn't use beam weaponry. They were at a disadvantage and it was clear as they fell to the ground.

As the last shadow pirate fell Samus switched back to her combat visor and continued onto the next room. There was still no words between them as Samus navigated the many rooms and hallways and dispatched many enemies along the way and offered no word or explanations for any of the things that she knew Zelda questioned as she no longer really cared to inform her on the technology present as it was the equivalent of explaining it to a child. The many nights where she lacked sleep due to nightmares were beginning to affect her once more and she wished to sleep and not have to worry about being plagued with the violence of her past.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer; ****I own nothing in this fic.**

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

1100 hours

Pending mission… Twilight Realm

Location scanning… Gerudo Desert [Frigate {Bridge}]

Samus stood at the Frigate controls in the company of a few dead space pirates as she hacked into the ship's log to record its past locations and where it was heading next. Its next destination assured her that she would destroy this ship. It was going to the Galactic Federation's main head quarters and there was no doubt that they would unleash Experiment-C57N on it and put the G-23 Paxilon Hyrdoclorate into the ventilation system. If that were to happen then there would be mass casualties on the space station. She could not allow that to happen.

Everything in the room was scanned before she left the bridge and went back to the engine room to rip it apart before starting the self destruct sequence. She would have to run through the ship very fast and very carefully to ensure the creature did not stir from its sleep and attack her as that would fatally slow her progression through the ship. Once the self destruct sequence was initiated she wouldn't be able to keep any form of communication with Zelda going nor would she be able to stop for a second no matter what happened.

She had deemed it necessary to destroy the creature or at least cripple it before she started the destruction of the frigate. It was her main concern now while the elite pirates were still no major threat to her they would still have to be dealt with as well. There wasn't much on this frigate that posed a threat to Samus but to the others on the planet they would cause mass devastation and destruction. What the space pirates would do here would be much worse then what the Galactic Federation would do.

"I don't have many options here, Zelda." Samus said after her long silence.

"What are they?" Zelda asked.

"I have to destroy the ship." Samus said. "I'm going to start the self destruct sequence and run out of the ship before it blows up."

"What will that do to the desert?" Zelda asked.

"Most of it will be a crater and the rest will be littered with debris." Samus said.

"Is there any other way?" Zelda asked immediately but Samus remained silent so she repeated herself, "Samus, is there any other way to go about this?"

"No one will be harmed this way." Samus said.

"The Gerudo Desert is a sacred place no matter if it is inhabited or not." Zelda said angrily. "It is the home of the Arbiter Grounds and the only place in Hyrule that the Great Sages reside."

"You sound attached to it." Samus said observantly. "What is its importance to you?"

"It is the last place I saw a good friend." Zelda said sadly. "I want all of Hyrule to remain preserved as she had fought hard to save it."

"You said the one that saved this land was male." Samus said.

"It was a man that saved Hyrule but she was helping him the whole time but couldn't take part in the final battle as she had lost consciousness." Zelda said. "She was dear to me."

"You haven't seen her since?" Samus asked.

"No, it is no longer possible to see her." Zelda said. "She returned to the Twilight Realm."

Samus stopped for a moment as something similar had been present in the data she had found. "This realm you speak of… it houses a great power doesn't it?"

"Yes, it is enough to compare to the power in this land as well." Zelda said.

"How do I get there?" Samus asked.

"The only way there has been destroyed." Zelda said.

"Are you sure there is only one way?" Samus asked as she reviewed the pirate log on the matter and found evidence that there was another way there and also some entries on what had been found there.

"There was _only_ one way to the Twilight Realm." Zelda said.

"Another way has been opened by the space pirates." Samus said. "I had found some logs mentioning it earlier but had discarded it as useless information. I didn't expect it would be a potential threat as you had never mentioned this to me when I asked you about your land."

"The Twilight Realm is not my land and it is not under my rule." Zelda said.

"When I asked you to inform me about any potential threats that I might encounter that included this realm." Samus said.

"At the time I didn't believe it to be a threat since it wasn't possible to get back there." Zelda said.

"Are there any other secrets your keeping that may pose a threat even if you think it's impossible?" Samus said angrily.

"One has been imprisoned in the Twilight Realm and the other has been killed." Zelda said. "The more likely of the two to pose a threat is Zant."

"Are they a threat to me?" Samus asked.

"It's very unlikely." Zelda said easily. "They're more of a threat to Hyrule then to you."

"If I'm here the only threat towards Hyrule are the space pirates and whatever they experiment on." Samus said confidently as she continued down the hallway. "I'll meet you outside."

She waited for no response before silencing the all communications and putting her ship on standby for pickup so she wouldn't have to cross the desert again. There was a lack of space pirate threat on this frigate when there should be much more then what there was. For the size of the ship there should have been an army present but there was only minimal defense forces present as if all the space pirates had already found a point of interest they were focusing all their forces on.

There were only two detours made on the trip back and that was to the armory and to the engine room to prepare for what was to come next. When the preparations were complete Samus left and signaled her ship for pick up. As she arrived at the room with the creature in it she found that it seemed a little more lifeless then it had before as if it wasn't just sleeping, it looked as though it were dying. She went to the computer that had its life support system and scanned it to find that it was having a negative affect to the gas and in turn it was killing it. The gas was either a failure or too much of it was deadly. She decided to just leave it be and let it die on its own and then return for the elite pirates later on.

Zelda had been startled when the ship began to move on its own and fly towards the enemy object as she attempted to halt the process with the same oddly shaped device she had held earlier when landing it but it was unresponsive to her action. As the ship arrived in front of the object and she found Samus standing there she felt relieved that everything was alright. Samus walked over and jumped up on top of the ship before entering.

"I'm going to have to go back after." Samus said. "I'm going to put some more power into my ship from my suit then I'm going back to recharge it since allowing it to sit on standby had drained it a lot. Power from my suit doesn't last long for my ship's power."

Samus went to the controls and allowed it to go completely to the ground before shutting it off completely and going to the back and removing her suit to connect it to the ship itself. Everything was done in silence before she went to the bed and laid down on it to get some rest while she could. "Wake me in an hour or if there's trouble."

1245 hours

Pending mission… Twilight Realm

Location scanning… Gerudo Desert [Arbiter Grounds]

Samus and Zelda stood at the top of the Arbiter Grounds where they had landed and where the portal had been found. In the center of the ruins a small staircase led to a portal that did not belong there and neither did all the computers and wires. Samus held a tight grip on her helmet as anger boiled inside her at the sight while Zelda was also enraged at this sight but only she voiced her anger, "What have they done to this sacred pace?"

"There is nothing sacred for them." Samus replied coldly as she began to climb the steps. "Wait in my ship and activate the defenses."

"I'm not staying behind this time." Zelda said. "I know the Twili and they know me. They will see you as a threat as well and you won't see them any different."

"It's too dangerous for you to come with me." Samus stated as she looked back.

"As soon as you go I will follow." Zelda said. "You can't lock me in your ship now and you can't lock me out of the Twilight Realm."

"Do you think just because your friend is there you can go and make everything better with her help?" Samus asked. "The space pirates are already there and have likely already enslaved them and experimented on them. Save yourself the sight and the nightmares of fighting their poisoned minds and just stay here where it's safe. You don't need to see what I have. You'll find nothing but nightmares beyond that gate."

"I am prepared for them." Zelda said firmly.

Samus looked back towards the gate and put on her helmet before saying, "I said the same thing before when I got that speech. No one cared to tell me that the nightmares don't go away."

She continued up the stairs without further word and nothing was said to stop or question her as the pain in her voice forbid it. When Samus reached the top Zelda hurried up after her only catching her at the portal where she said, "If your nightmares are really that terrible then you shouldn't do this alone."

"But if you die…" Samus trailed off.

"I'm not as weak as you think I am, Samus." Zelda said. "I've been the ruler of this land for a long time and only one had dared take my throne and he failed. Why do you think no one else has dared try and take my throne from me? It would have been easy when I was a child. No one dared make the attempt because of the power I wield."

"What power is this?" Samus asked. "All I have seen was intimidation but you're not the only one that can play that game."

"It is no game." Zelda said as she walked into the portal and disappeared.

Samus wasted no time in going in after her. When she came out she found Zelda not far away and immediately pulled her closer to her own body and pointed her power beam at all the creatures that moved. They came closer as they moaned the words 'light being' over and over again in different tones.

"Where's Midna?" Zelda asked almost frantically.

"Danger," They moaned. "Danger is coming."

"Run." Another moaned and the others repeated. "They are coming."

It wasn't long after the warning was said that the danger became apparent as the familiar sound of space pirates being alerted to an intruder was heard. The creatures that gave the warning scrambled and Samus forced Zelda behind her as she sternly said one word, "Stay."

She didn't care for a response as she walked away to put a bit of distance between her and the Princess as the space pirate came for them. It was coming from the main building and jumped through a black mist that fell from the sky like a waterfall. Samus narrowed her eyes at the massive mutation that had been made to it as she tried to scan it but it was too far so she ran at it while allowing her charge beam to form idly for when she would use it.

When it was close enough the scan was made and found this wasn't a normal mutation from any space pirate experiment and its biological signature hardly even suggested that this was a space pirate but it looked, moved, and sounded like one. She shot her weapon at it but it wasn't even phased by the attack as it continued after her in a rage as she moved to dodge its scythe and noticed the beam weapon present on its other arm making her curious as to why it had attacked her at a close range.

She continued dodging its attacks as she couldn't get enough space to attack it as it didn't let up on its own attacks. This wasn't looking good for her as not only could she not attack but her weapon seemed to be useless against this mutation. She blocked its scythe with her power beam and held it steady as it roared at her in rage. She kicked it back and quickly fired a missile in hopes of at least phasing it but it did nothing to it as it came at her again.

Before it even got close it was struck by what seemed to be beam weaponry but it wasn't as it went through the creature, which burst upon contact, and continued on until it hit the ground and reverted to a normal arrow. Samus looked in the direction the attack had come from and found Zelda armed with a golden bow and a cold look in her eyes as she walked over, "Do you still doubt my power?"

"If all of your race can fight like this I have underestimated it greatly." Samus said in shock.

"There are only three beings that have access to the power of the gods and one has been killed." Zelda said. "I did not mention this to you before because it is not well known that these powers exist and they are a carefully guarded secret."

"I've had enough of your secrets, Zelda." Samus said. "I want the truth from now on. I have been honest to you now be honest to me."

"Another time, we have company." Zelda said as she drew her bow once more and allowed an arrow to form in her hand before pulling it back on the string as Samus aimed her power beam at the oncoming enemies and allowed it to shift to her newer beam mode to see if it would work against these new enemies. They both fired at the same time and both enemies were shot down and killed with a single shot.

A smirk formed on Samus's face as she shot them all down with an ally that held a surprisingly good chance at survival even thought she held so much doubt before at this. Zelda was much more then she originally believed her to be and it made her feel a little lighter inside. The feeling was strange to her but she enjoyed it all the same and accepted it as she shot down hoards of the creatures before there were none left.

Samus heard a long moan behind her that made her turn quickly and aim her cannon at the source only to find the strange creatures had returned and watched the two. Zelda walked towards one of them and crouched down to its height, "Where's Midna?"

They all pointed to the tall building behind the dark waterfall and both women looked in its direction with a determined look. Both walked forward at the same time without word. They came to a stop at the dark waterfall as Samus scanned it briefly but got nothing on the substance. Zelda raised her hand and brought it so it was only inches away before tensing her arm and hand as a strange symbol glowed on the back of her hand making all the mist in a large radiance scatter as it to allow them passage to the other side.

Both hopped over the small ledge to the other side and continued on at a quick pace towards the building as Samus kept an eye out for any form of movement whether it was a giant bird or that strange black mist. Something here had mutated the space pirates and it was likely going to be a threat to her and Zelda as well so she would have to be weary of everything that moved and even everything that didn't move.

They came to the entrance and opened the door to find the next room almost crawling with enemies. There was no scrawl of alertness in these creatures and they scrambled around seemingly without aim. Samus scanned each and found the same mutation in these space pirates as the others. "Something in this strange land has mutated them."

"What do you mean?" Zelda asked.

"They are all space pirates and they all show signs of mutations of an unknown origin." Samus stated. "This may be more dangerous then I had anticipated. You'll have to be careful."

"What about you?" Zelda asked. "Do you expect to just run in without a care?"

"My suit will protect me from whatever has infected them but you have no protection." Samus said. "You are at greater risk then I am."

Zelda scoffed at this and said, "I hold the Triforce of Wisdom, nothing in this Realm can harm me. I've already been in the Twilight Realm and have not been affected by it so I won't be now. Why do you think I have the ability to disperse the dark mist? It cannot touch me."

Samus remained silent and walked forward towards the enemies in a quick pace to forbid words once more with battle. As the mutated space pirates attacked her she felt at ease and no longer a mix of infuriation and concern she held for the woman that accompanied her in this place. Her sheltered royal life has caused her to look down on others and gave her the irritant tone of superiority that Samus loathed so much. It was as if just her eyes stated that she was superior to all others and they believed nothing to be above her. That had changed for a short while but the fear had gone and the dominance had returned to the Princess.

She shot down many of the space pirates and allowed none to get past her as Zelda remained by the door and fired arrows at them. They were absentmindedly strategically placed in terms of rate of fire and power as Samus had a higher death toll ratio then Zelda. This fact pleased her greatly but her anger didn't fade as Zelda's powers were stronger then her power beam. Both weapons were limitless in supply as the power beam did not use the suits energy and Zelda was able to generate arrows at will.

When there was no more life left in the space pirates Samus glanced over to confirm that Zelda was indeed fine. Despite her anger she couldn't deny she feared for her safety but only because of the simple fact that any who entered battle with her died no matter what side they fought for. Zelda approached her at a calm pace and her eyes remained their usual cool that looked down upon others.

Samus narrowed her eyes in anger before turning to continue on to the next room without word as she didn't want to share words with this stuck up woman. They continued on through the building and stayed close together until the time of battle then they kept a good distance between them when it was possible to do so and when it wasn't they fought side by side without word or much care as they only spoke when it was necessary to do so for easier maneuvering through the rooms as they seemed difficult for Zelda to pass as ledges were too high for her to jump to so she had to be helped.

After many rooms they came to a large balcony where they found a woman wielding a sword attempted to fight off a few mutated space pirates while an elite pirate was also fighting the woman. Zelda immediately hurried forward only stopping to fire an arrow here and there to slay the space pirates but the elite was unaffected. Samus took aim at the elite pirate with her power beam charged as her aim was locked on its missile launcher on its back.

She shot off a power missile just as it reached the woman and she was about to meet her end. The power missile connected with the elite pirate's weapon and it all exploded causing the elite pirate to stop what it was doing as it finally realized it was being attacked. Samus ran at it as Zelda continued to fire arrows uselessly at it. She passed the woman without the care to tell her that her weapon was of no use.

As she got closer she began to fire her own weapon at it but found that did little as well. She came to a stop not far away from it as it brought its arms above its head and she charged her beam. The elite pirate brought its hands down to the ground as Samus jumped towards it and shot the charge beam right in it's face as she flipped over it and landed behind it as the shockwave of its attack died out.

She turned to see it turn to face her while swinging its arm out to hit her mid turn. Samus dove towards its feet and shifted into morph ball mode and rolled under it through its feet while placing a power bomb under its feet before boosting off to gather distance. She came out of the morph ball in a crouch with her eyes right on Zelda to find her startled expression once more. The uptight look was still there but it had lessened.

Samus stood properly and turned back to the elite pirate and walked over at a slow pace as its legs had been injured by the bomb and it struggled to its feet. When it got close to lifting itself from the ground Samus shot its arms with a charge beam forcing it back to the ground until she stood at its face and fired the final shot to kill it. She heard the two women reuniting not far away as they expressed their concern for the other. Her gaze was on them briefly before she looked away as more space pirates came at them in a hoard.

She took aim and fired as rapidly as she could to take them all out but it wasn't long before Zelda began to attack them as well. Her anger rose as she pressed harder to kill more space pirates then the Princess. When they were all dispatched she turned to confront Zelda and tell her she didn't need help only for her words to be lost at the sight of the two women sharing a warm smile. Any look of superiority was gone from Zelda's face as she spoke with this other woman.

She looked away not wanting to see this warmth Zelda was showing to her friend. There shouldn't be a look of warmth on the face of someone who only showed hostility. It wasn't long before she walked away to continue her mission without a companion. This way it would be as it should be and no one would get injured. There would be no more worries for her as she cleansed this realm of all the mutated space pirates that came.

It wasn't long after she departed that the other two women caught up with her. "Samus, where are you going?"

"I'm finishing my mission." She stated. "You've found your friend and she's safe. Go home."

"Do you think you can beat all of them by yourself?" The other woman asked. "There's an army of them that appeared just the other day and already they have overrun my palace."

"That's what they do." Samus said. "I'll fight them on my own as I do."

"You've fought these _things_ before?" The woman asked.

"It's what I do." Samus said coolly.

"Why must you always be so difficult?" Zelda asked.

Samus gave her a simple side glance before jumping from the edge of the balcony to a ledge much too far and high for the others to reach. Zelda gave her a worried look as the bounty hunter disappeared from sight. "Is she always so bothered?"

"No, the only emotion I have ever seen from her is slight irritation and a bit of sorrow." Zelda said. "This is the first I've seen this amount of anger from her but I haven't known her long enough to sense what's wrong with her."

Midna remained silent for awhile as Zelda continued to look off at where she had last seen the armored woman. She could see the look of disturb in her face and soon it became too much so she said, "Shall we?"

Zelda looked away and her determination returned as she nodded, "Let's go."

They couldn't follow Samus directly so the continued along the side of the balcony to the next room that would eventually lead to where Samus was going. Along the way they caught up with what has happened in their lives in the past couple of months. Zelda had already given Midna a brief summary of Samus's story of how she had arrived in Hyrule. As expected it was taken with much skepticism but after seeing the bounty hunter in action there was little doubt that she had much history with the creatures that were invading their lands with so much violence.

The two women met little resistance along their way and most were killed before they even got close as Zelda killed them with her light arrows shortly after they appeared. They continued on with a little conversation as Midna asked, "Have you seen Link since that day?"

"No, the last I heard he returned to Ordon woods," Zelda said as she shot off another arrow. "I don't know if he has traveled since he returned home."

"He cares a lot for those kids but after the adventures he had I don't know if he'll be able to return to his ordinary life." Midna said. "If he was aware of what was going on now I don't doubt he would rush over here without thinking it through. That woman seems to be the same."

"No, in the fights before we came here she planned them out instead of just running in like she had earlier." Zelda said. "I don't know why she's so against me being here, I can handle myself just fine."

"You forget she's more experienced with these things and not experienced with you." Midna said. "It's only natural she would underestimate you but maybe she isn't as much as you believe."

"What are you saying?" Zelda asked angrily.

"She knows more of these creatures then you do and maybe she cares to much about you to put you against them." Midna said with a smirk.

"She doesn't care for anyone but herself." Zelda scoffed angrily. "She's completely selfish and irritating. Every time she has a chance to belittle me she does it without a care."

"I never thought of you to be one to lose your cool so easily, Zelda." Midna said calmly. "Even Gannondorf was unable to waver your calm attitude and yet this woman is around for two days and she has you completely aggravated. Where is the reasoning behind this?"

Zelda didn't respond to the comment as they began finding the trail left by Samus. Bodies were left littered everywhere as whatever had caused their mutation began to eat away at their bodies. They approached one as Midna moved it ever so slightly with her sword and said, "I've noticed they rot quickly after their death."

"It might be the mutation Samus had mentioned before." Zelda said. "We should hurry."

"Getting worried are we?" Midna asked.

"Of course not." Zelda said as she continued to follow the trail of bodies at a slightly quicker pace then before.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer; ****I own nothing in this fic.**

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Chapter 6

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1330 hours

Pending mission… Execution

Location scanning… Twilight Realm [throne room{entrance}]

Samus stood just short of breath at the entrance of a large room, likely a throne, filled with more of the space pirate mutation. She found that the further she went on the stronger the enemies became and the more enraged they were as well at the sight of her. It had been awhile since she stopped caring about distance between her and her enemies. She shot quick bursts at enemies not caring if she hit the one she was aiming for as it would just hit the one behind it instead but when they got too close she became more focused and her shots where focused on vital areas.

She fought through the space pirates mercilessly as a mutated giant of a creature she couldn't even recognize due to the advanced mutation in the pirate stood and watched at the end of the room. Samus was so focused on her current battle she failed to notice the attack being made by the bigger pirate as it used a ranged attack before charging at all in its way. The pod like missile exploded all around Samus, indicating that it too cared little for accuracy, before it rammed through all the creatures still in the way.

Samus was forced back through the door before it finally threw her away. She blinked to get a hold of herself as she stood up quickly to fend off the threat that was already attacking her again. All she could do to avoid it was jump to the side and run while allowing her beam to charge before she changed directions and fired the charge at it then laid a rapid spray of non charged shots and an occasional missile as she continued to run around and away from it to keep a distance between it and her so she could continue an assault and not just a retreat from it.

It seemed useless as ten of her steps were equal to one of its steps but she never stopped moving despite her growing tire. All her tire amounted to was a growing anger inside her as she pushed herself to beat this. Samus had never once come this far just to take it easy in the end and allow herself to lose. She couldn't stop now, too much was at stake. The Twilight Realm, Hyrule, the Galactic Federation, and any other sentient being in the galaxy was at risk of this new threat if it ever got out.

Every few seconds she would have to blink and shake her head in a quick jolt to snap herself awake and keep focused on the danger she was facing. Soon it wasn't enough however as it was right on top of her and ready for an attack. Samus's eyes widened with a slight fear as her failure began to sink in. It didn't get far however as a beam of light went straight through the center of the pirate's chest from behind. Neither Samus nor the pirate moved an inch even as another beam of light went through it a little left to the first before the creature began to fall to the ground.

Samus hurried out of the way to avoid being crushed by the creature. In the end she had to dive out of the way and fell to the ground as well as she felt her fatigue now more then ever. She closed her eyes to try and find a rest without nightmares and recalled that it was that very act that led her to be shot down in the first place. A deep breath escaped her as she opened her eyes and found she was lying on her back as Zelda was crouched by her side trying desperately to speak with her and remove her helmet.

She weakly raised her hand up to her face and removed her helmet and found Zelda's eyes widen almost with fear. Zelda looked to the other woman frantically and mouthed words that held no sound or form to Samus as all she heard was a sharp ringing in both her ears. She closed her eyes once more in her tire only to feel a quick tapping on her cheek keeping her conscious as Zelda spoke to her once more. There was no way for her to know if she responded or not but the look of fear grew on Zelda's face.

Small dark lines had formed on Samus's neck and had spread to her cheeks and chin like veins while her eyes seemed darker then Zelda had ever seen them. She was slowly being affected by this realm just as the space pirates had been. It was unlikely that any of them even knew they were being affected by it as there was no sign that the space pirates were fighting each other here but some must have noticed it and went back to their own ship to create a method to fight off the infected since Samus had found that very technology.

Samus was the only one there being affected as Midna had already coped with the environment and Zelda was protected by the Triforce in her possession. Zelda placed her hand on Samus's cheek and prayed to the Goddesses for the woman's survival and her protection in this realm even if it was only long enough for them to leave. Midna remained silent as she observed the unresponsive woman and Zelda do everything she could to preserve her life.

When the actions were halted and the dark lines began to fade away from the woman's face Midna decided to speak, "Its strange how this one was able to resist so well while the other creatures fell so easily into their madness."

"Samus is a fighter." Zelda said. "She had been since the moment I met her. Not even being in chains stopped her from taking me hostage even if that was short lived."

"Is that why she angers you so easily?" Midna asked amusedly. "She had bested you while in chains and you can't let it go."

"That's not it." Zelda said. "There are many actions she held towards me that I am angry about but right now I can't be angry with her now because I know she's been through so much just for us. I never once asked for her help but instead I just demanded it as if her life meant nothing to me."

"Is that still how you feel?" Midna asked.

"No, it could never be like that again." Zelda said as she brought Samus into a sitting position with some difficulty from the weight of her armor and her continued unresponsiveness. Her hand was still gently placed on the other woman's face as she said, "Samus, wake up."

To her surprise Samus opened her eyes and looked at her with a faint look of relief as she weakly said, "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm just fine but what about you?" Zelda asked.

"I've been better." Samus said as she sat up slowly with a bit of a wince before she looked around. "How did I get here? The last thing I remember is fighting the elite pirate and finding your friend. After that I just recall feeling anger and hatred."

"That doesn't matter now." Zelda said firmly. "What matters is getting you out of here."

"Has something happened?" Samus asked.

"It will be explained on the way." Midna said as Zelda aided the woman in standing up before retrieving the helmet from the ground.

Midna walked to the edge of the large balcony before raising her hand and allowing a platform to appear before them and she walked on followed by the other two women. They stood on it as it brought them down to the gate quietly. Samus stood a little hunched over with a hand on her side as her entire body felt stiff and sore from whatever had happened to her. During the whole trip an explanation was being given and the reasons why Zelda had not been effected by it and how she had regained herself from the environment.

As the platform slowed to a stop Midna stepped off as many of the Twili race rushed to greet her and the others with long moans. She smiled down at them and motion to the other two women following behind her. They all turned to face the other two, including Midna as she said, "We are grateful to your help in this matter."

The other Twili all moaned their agreement before bowing before them. A warm smile formed on Zelda's face as she knew this gesture was not necessary but was given out of their gratefulness and respect, while Samus was completely taken aback by the action as none had ever bowed to her before. Midna bowed her head as well and said, "Thank you, both of you, without you this land would once more be lost."

"Anytime I can be of any help just let me know." Zelda said.

Samus said nothing as she just began walking again with mutters of going to lie down. Zelda hurried after her to make sure she didn't fall over or push herself too hard as she was already visibly staining herself to do these things. The Twili moved out of their way allowing them to pass as Midna brought them the rest of the way to the newer portal where she looked to Zelda and said, "Destroy it when you get to the other side and if you have the chance give Link my best."

"I can change the settings of the portal to open for only certain people or it will self destruct." Samus said. "If Zelda's the only one with access to this place then there's no problem."

Zelda looked to Midna for approval to reconnect the two worlds before saying, "I can bring Link here so you don't have to speak through me."

Midna just shook her head and replied, "Give him my best."

Zelda was clearly saddened by this as Samus said, "I'm going on ahead. I'll wait for you in my ship."

She left the two to their own farewells as she just wanted to rest. Zelda watched her disappear through the portal before she brought her gaze back to Midna, "This is our second goodbye then."

"Yes, our people should not linger in worlds they do not belong in." Midna said. "We are of darkness and you are of light and that cannot change and it cannot mingle. This is hopefully our final goodbye."

Zelda couldn't bring herself to agree as the last time was supposed to be final but due to the space pirates they were forced to meet and separate once more. If the two were to meet again it wouldn't likely be under pleasant circumstances and they both didn't want another short encounter only to part once more as this encounter had been. It was unfortunate but they were allowed a chance to speak to the other as Zelda had longed for the chance to do so again. They both knew their last chance was at its end as they both bid a final farewell before Zelda stepped through the portal and returned to Hyrule.

1800 hours

Pending mission…

Location scanning… Hyrule Castle [market entrance]

Zelda stood before her people as she explained what had happened and further explained the gunship that had left and returned and her absence in the castle that day. She explained the danger though there was heavy skepticism in the crowds and there was no help form Samus as she stood by the Princess in silence. The bounty hunter watched the crowd and the Princess with intrigue as the people weren't fond of the lack of information given but Zelda wasn't pressing them into submission.

When all the questions died down the two women and the guard Captain took their leave so the people would go about their business. They went to the courtroom in silence so once more the situation could be explained but to an audience that would speak ill more openly as the courts men seemed to have to much pride in themselves to tolerate others that lacked title. Samus wasn't looking forward to returning to the courtroom and having them look down on her again. She knew they would question her more then the Princess.

They entered the court and were immediately welcomed with concern and anger. Their concern was reserved solely for the Princess while their anger was held towards Samus, for taking the Princess, and the Captain, for his incompetence. Samus didn't respond to their anger while the Captain protested his anger against them. The two met eyes as he shifted blame to her for acting irrationally but she said nothing in response.

Zelda halted the anger in her court as she began to speak which called immediate attention, "There is no more threat to Hyrule as it has been taken care of earlier this morning."

"Just the other day it was described as an immense threat but for it to be taken care of so quickly I'm beginning to doubt it." One of the courts men said.

"Do you doubt what I have witnessed with my own eyes?" Zelda asked with a stern tone.

"I don't question you at all, your highness." He replied. "It is this woman that I question and doubt."

Zelda glanced at all her courts men and found them all in agreement with the matter. She looked to Samus next and found their opinion didn't even bother her at all even though it should. "I don't question Samus's actions or knowledge at all. She has my complete trust."

This got all their attention, even Samus was surprised at this and even more so as Zelda continued, "Everything she has told me about the space pirates has been backed up with proof and I've encountered them myself to know that they should not be underestimated in the slightest. I am relieved to know that there are no more in Hyrule."

"That is not entirely accurate." Samus said. "There is still the matter of the elite pirates. They don't pose an immediate threat but the minute they awake from their cryogenic sleep they will break free and could find their way here. You have seen them yourself and you know the reason why I didn't kill them."

"Regardless, I trust you to take care of them when you return to the desert." Zelda said.

"That was my plan." Samus confirmed. "They'll be disposed of by midnight."

"Will you go alone?" Zelda asked.

"I prefer to work alone." Samus said. "I'll be departing shortly."

"When you return safely we'll have a feast to in your honor." Zelda said.

"That won't be necessary." Samus said as she turned to leave. "I might not be returning after. This isn't my home after all."

"Even if it isn't you are welcome here." Zelda said reassuringly.

Samus raised her hand to offer a wave before she walked out of the court. Zelda went to sit in her chair and idly watched the courts men mutter about what had taken place and the disrespect given once more from the woman towards their Princess. She took no mind to them as she wondered if Samus would return here or not. It was a little surprising how much she wished to see the woman again despite how little they got along at times. Those times were not exactly rare as they happened when there was no tension between them and there was no danger. Anytime there was any danger around they seemed to be fine together however.

After awhile she looked off to the side and gazed out the window distantly allowing the arguments in the room dissolve away as she lost herself in thought. She looked out to the sky and wondered what was beyond the heavens. The thought had never occurred to her before as she believed nothing was beyond the heavens but after encountering Samus and the space pirates it was all she could think about as her curiosity grew within her. A part of her wanted to see it now more then just sit here and listen to the arguments.

"Your highness, is everything alright?" The Captain asked.

Zelda looked over to find the Captain kneeled down in front of her seat. "I'm fine, I was just thinking."

"Forgive me but you seemed a bit more distracted to just be thinking." He observed.

"I suppose I was." Zelda said distantly.

"It's that women isn't it?" He asked. "I've seen her skill in battle and I'm assured that she will be fine."

"I'm not concerned about her wellbeing, I know she will be alright." Zelda said. "I am more curious about where she has come from and what lies beyond the heavens."

This seemed to catch him by surprise but no comment was made on it as Zelda returned her gaze towards the window but held her current level of alertness so she wouldn't be caught off guard once more. The Captain followed her gaze as he rose to his feet, "I suppose it is curious as to what lies beyond but it is not something to wonder so openly. It will raise too many questions with others and we won't have any answers for them."

"I'm aware of this." Zelda said as she stood up. "I'm going for a walk."

Nothing was said as she left the court and walked down the hall at a quick pace that soon turned to a run as she hurried to the courtyard in hopes of catching up with Samus before she left if she hadn't already. There was nothing she could think of to say to the woman but she felt compelled to stop her from leaving Hyrule so eagerly. So what if it wasn't her home that didn't mean she couldn't stay and enjoy the land for a little while longer.

She entered the courtyard and ran around the castle to where Samus's ship was in hopes of talking her into returning after she had dealt with everything. When she got around the corner of the castle and found the absence of the gunship she felt a loss at not making it there in time. She stood there for awhile as she looked at the damaged ground from the crash. When the crash happened she hadn't thought much of the damage as it could be fixed but now she wanted to leave it the way it was as a reminder of the woman that had brought forth so many questions and so little answers for the very questions that she had raised for many in the castle and market.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer; ****I own nothing in this fic.**

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Chapter 7

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0600 hours

Pending mission… Return

Location scanning… Hyrule Castle [courtyard]

Zelda stood against a wall early in the dawn as sleep had escaped her in the past few days. Ever since Samus had arrived her mind had been restless with questions but none had ever really been answered as the timing was never right for them to be raised. Every morning and every night Zelda came to this very spot and looked at the crater in her courtyard while wondering what had become of the bounty hunter.

She had sent word to the man that ran the business at Lake Hylia to confirm if the space pirate ship was still there but she had yet to hear confirmation from him so she was beginning to hold doubt that it was. This morning though she was more then willing to go and see for herself as she wore a cloak of simple yet subtle design over her formal dress as she would go in disguise to avoid suspicion and at this time of day the guards wouldn't notice her identity so easily when she went by them on horse while they stood half asleep by this time in their shift.

Slow drops of rain began to fall here and there and from the sky but it wouldn't be long before it began to rain harder. Zelda pulled the cloak's hood over her head and allowed it to cover most of her face and hide it in shadow, while the rest was covered in a scarf, before leaving to go to the stables and fetch her fastest horse for her trip. She had some of the finest horses in all of Hyrule and they all ran both quickly and smoothly which was a fine quality to have in a horse.

As she arrived at the stables the rain had become heavier, there would be a heavy storm today. Regardless she carried on with her task as she didn't want to sit around in wait of a letter or for Samus to return. She came to a stop in front of her fastest horse's pen and reached out to pet the mare before untying it to bring it out but it didn't move as it neighed in fear. Zelda dropped the reigns to bring up her hands and calm the horse before she heard what had the horse spooked.

A slight hum went over them at a quick pace. She took the horses reigns and quickly tied it back up before running out of the stable and across the courtyard after the source of the hum to confirm that it was in fact Samus returning. When she saw the gunship there her chest swelled and she quickened her pace with tears in her eyes. There was no sign of her yet as she remained inside the ship as if something were wrong. If something happened and she were injured then Zelda would only blame herself for not persisting on going with her even though Samus had proven to be fully capable of handling herself.

She reached the ship and climbed on with much difficulty as it remained hovering above the ground and the rain made it harder to grip the metal and with the rains cool the metal was cold and froze her hands. When she finally got up she wasted no time in going to the hatch and going in at an oddly slow pace as it slowly pulled her inside. It closed after her and she stood there dripping wet as she met Samus's eyes almost immediately to find her shock before it turned to embarrassment as she wasn't wearing her odd clothing and was also wet while her hair was down for the first time.

Samus covered herself with a towel quickly as she asked, "What are you doing here this early in the morning?"

Zelda was at a loss for words as she felt her face heat up a bit at seeing the other woman so exposed. Samus sighed and went to the controls while wrapping the towel around her body properly and pressed a button making something cover the window so no one could see into the ship. When that was done she returned to the back of the ship and retrieved another towel from a small cabinet built into the wall so it didn't stick out. She handed it to Zelda as she said, "I'm sorry it took so long for me to come back but I decided it would just be easier to make all the repairs I needed for my ship before returning."

"So you'll be leaving soon then?" Zelda asked sadly.

"I haven't decided yet." Samus said. "Something about this place makes me want to stay here for a little while longer."

"Then stay here." Zelda said almost pleadingly.

"So you can show some emotion to people other then close friends." Samus observed. "Your friend in the Twilight Realm seemed to be the only one to see this side of you. I didn't like it."

Zelda looked away with a deepening blush and a guilty look, "I don't like showing emotion too much. It will only be used against me."

"Show it to me more." Samus said as she moved closer to the Princess. "I'll protect you so it will be okay."

Zelda looked over at her with shock which heightened as Samus kissed her while wrapping her arms around her waist to pull her closer. The towel in Zelda's hand fell to the ground as she pushed Samus away from her. Her eyes were wide with her disbelief, "What is wrong with you? We are both women."

"Does that bother you?" Samus asked clearly confused with the matter.

"It isn't right for two women to be together." Zelda stated as all her anger returned.

"Do you feel happy when we're together?" Samus asked. "And I mean happier then normal."

"Yes, you are my friend." Zelda said simply.

"When you are close to me do you feel warmth in your chest that you can't explain?" Samus asked.

Zelda was a little hesitant before she answered, "Yes."

"My final question…" Samus trailed off and approached Zelda once more and pressed her against the wall before kissing her passionately. Zelda struggled against it but soon gave in under the bounty hunter's body strength and was soon kissing her back as she felt the warmth inside her almost burst as her heart raced. When Samus pulled away with a light blush she asked, "Did that disgust you?"

Zelda's eyes widened and she didn't believe herself when she quietly answered, "No, it didn't."

A warm smile formed on Samus's face as she placed a hand on Zelda's cheek, "I think I've fallen for you Princess and I think you've done the same for me."

Her eyes widened once more before they kissed again but there was no resistance between them as Zelda began to allow it to happen and accept her own feelings for the woman. They were the feelings she had ignored and tried to banish with hate and anger since they had started within her. She knew it wasn't just curiosity she felt towards this woman, it had always been more then that. Admiration wasn't far off in the beginning but then it began to be much more then that.

Samus brought Zelda away from the wall to undo and remove her cloak and let it fall away before starting with her dress next. Zelda pulled away with a nervous and angered look, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Your clothes are wet so I'm taking them off so you can warm up." Samus said "As convenient as the excuse is that's not why I'm doing it. I'm content with just this."

Samus released her and went across the ship to pull out the bed and removed the blanket. As she went back to Zelda she found she was beginning to undress with an embarrassed look on her face while avoiding the other woman's eyes. Samus smiled warmly at her obedience in the matter and wrapped the blanket tightly around her body before rubbing her shaking arms. Their eyes still didn't meet as Zelda asked, "What about you? You're wet too."

"That was from my shower." Samus said. "I didn't think I'd have a visitor this early in the morning so I took the time to take a shower and clean myself since it had been days."

"But there is no bath in here so how could you bathe?" Zelda asked.

"I took a shower, it's in the corner." Samus said while pointing to the back corner where there was a strange looking faucet coming from the ceiling of the ship and there was a drain below it. "It's not big but it works."

Zelda said nothing as she continued to look at the strange faucet. Samus laughed and said, "I guess you wouldn't know what a shower is either."

Zelda's eyes went from the faucet to Samus at the sound of her laugh. It was the fist sign of amusement she had ever witnessed from the woman that wasn't from a degrading comment or a moment where she had outsmarted Zelda with the technology she had. This was from good humor and not from irritation. It was nice and she wanted to hear more of it, "I like the sound of your laugh. I'd like to hear it more."

"Only if I can see more of your emotion." Samus said with a slight smirk.

"It's a deal." Zelda said as she kissed Samus once more.

Samus pulled her over to the bed and sat her down before sitting next to her while continuing the kiss. When they parted Samus said, "I'll go as far as you want me to, Zelda. Whatever you want is whatever you get."

"I want to feel happy." Zelda said.

"Just happy?" Samus asked with a slight smirk before giving her a quick kiss. Zelda blushed and looked away only for her face to be turned back making her blush worsen to a new degree. "You're beautiful when you blush, don't hide it from me."

Zelda tensed up from embarrassment and visibly fought the urge to look away making Samus smile as she allowed her hand to fall away, "I'll let it go just this once."

Zelda automatically looked away with even more embarrassment but only for a moment before looking back, "I won't hide my emotions from you."

Samus smiled and kissed her once more, "Only show it when we're alone so others won't know this side of you. Emotions are a powerful weapon and are often used to gain power."

"I know that already." Zelda said.

"Good." Samus said. "I'm sorry about the way I was acting the last time we spoke. I knew my feelings and I was sure of yours but I couldn't find the courage to confront you about it."

"When did you realize it?" Zelda asked.

A warm smile dawned on Samus's face as she said, "When I awoke in the Twilight Realm and found you sitting by my side without anger but only concern for my safety. You were so beautiful and even more so without the cold look you always have in your eyes but even then you are beautiful."

Zelda smiled at the response but was a little irritated about the comment on the cold look she carried though it wasn't an insult. She kissed Samus and it was immediately made more passionate by the other woman as she entered her mouth and took her shoulder with a firm grip. When they parted their tongues were still partially out as they wanted a bit more but Samus got off the bed and brought her down onto the bed comfortably before continuing with a more heated pace as if she couldn't get enough of the Princess.

Rain poured down onto the ship heavily and thunder rumbled loudly in the heavens as if in protest of the actions held between the two women but it wasn't heard by them as they cared little for the weather outside of the ship as they barely heard it inside the thick metal and machinery that hummed relaxingly and their own noises drowned out all their cares and concerns for the world around them. This was the heaviest storm Hyrule had ever known and would ever know as it kept on for hours and raised the level of water in Lake Hylia as it too was caught in the storm.

When the rain had finally come to its end the two women had return to their usual attitude towards the other but there were no longer any insults or anger and neither looked down upon the other whether it was from a higher standing or from a higher knowledge of technology. Samus held the Princess tightly in her arms as she was ready to do whatever it took to keep her happy and safe while Zelda accepted this role from her as she found it strangely welcoming despite her own strength. The two spent the rest of the day lying in each others embrace on the small bed without a care for anything around as the ship had been locked down previous to their actions and there was no way for anyone to look inside of it.


End file.
